"STAR FORCE ONE"

An original story by: Red Sonic

"ORIGIN"

Allan Ironside hoped that when he died, somebody would appreciate that he was the one who did the job that no one else wanted to do. Everyone complained about it. Nobody wanted to deal with it. Yet, no one was thankful when Allan removed space debris and dumped it into the Asteroid Field.

At twenty-two, Allan didn't exactly have the brightest future in the world. He dropped out of basic grading to join his Uncle Otis on board the Wayward, his space barge/tow ship/passenger ship. When Uncle Otis died a few years back, it was Allan's shock to discover that he had inherited his uncle's entire estate as well as the Wayward.

When he didn't have to pilot it or take on any responsibilities, Allan was more than at home since Uncle Otis did most of the work, but when he received the Wayward he knew that he had to take over the business because there was no other way to pay the bills. So now Allan found himself where he is today: facing a life of space barging.

Running a hand through his short, dirty blonde hair, he looked down and stared at the application form to the Colonial Navy. It's requirements went beyond his simple grading skills, but he intended to finish it. Once he was accepted into the Navy, he intended to sell the docking station he had inherited as well as the Wayward in order to afford the entrance fee into the Academy. He'd always loved the space faring jets that the Navy piloted and used. Now there was more and exciting ships being developed. There was even talk of mechanical suits larger than a space fighter. However, those were rumored to be drones that could fight remotely, but the prospect of such suits piloted by humans was exciting nonetheless.

Sitting idly at the controls of the Wayward, he sat and flipped through the application to the Navy as he kept the Wayward on half-impulse. A normal hour long trip to Earth's orbit to haul away some debris would now take three hours and leave him with more of what he loved the most: free time.

"Forget this." He said, tossing the application down and picking up a video game. Time for that later. He'd rather play a few rounds of GutBusters III.

"Storm Leader to Storm Squadron. Call em' out, Storms."

"Storm One, signing in."

"Storm Two, ready to go."

"Storm Three, all systems green."

The rest of Storm Squadron signed in over the com-unit. Commander Jay Winger glanced down at his instruments and made sure they were activating in the green areas. His space fighter, the Windfall, was his baby and he knew she wouldn't let him down. She never did.

Jay strapped his helmet a little bit tighter than before. The take-offs into the atmosphere were always a little jarring. Jay knew the Colonies were getting a little...frustrated having orbital launch stations for Earth's defense fighters so close to their precious space stations. Frankly, Jay was getting fed up with the Colonies being so uppity. They were under Earth's jurisdiction after all. That put them under the Confederation's rule.

As leader of the top gun Storm Squadron, Jay had a long-standing reputation of being a born leader as well as a man apart from others. He didn't intend to be this way, but others felt like less than whole around him. He seemed o carry himself like something more than everything else and it showed. But there was no one better to have in a fight than Jay '2K' Winger. After all, that was how he earned the '2K' part of his name.

It was the first week of the month and that meant Jay was on patrol around the Earth's orbit. One rotation and back to the station for refueling. Mercenaries, pirates, and scavengers were an abundant nuisance in the orbital areas. They could run back to a station or colony, but they could also run back to the planet and out of Jay's fighter's capabilities. The Windfall had space-faring capabilities only and any contact with the atmosphere itself would tear the jet apart in minutes.

The launch signal was given and Jay led the way out of the hangar, through the magnetic field keeping the vacuum of space at bay, and into the cold black of space. Behind him, the eleven members of Storm Squadron followed him out. Today, he intended to go through the motions and come back home. This day was his last day before furlough and he intended to get back to good old planet Earth by the end of the day. His next-in-command was going to take over for a week while he was gone. Jay stared at the picture wedged into his control console. The picture of someone more important to him than anyone else in the world. He had to get home to her. He had promised her that.

This day was by far one of the better ones that Ben Harvester had seen in a long time. The days of summer were here and he lazily walked through the crops of his family's fields--The crops grown in the soil of planet Earth. Wearing a pair of blue jean overalls, a flannel button down shirt, and a backwards cap on his head, he slung his hoe over his shoulder and picked a path through the waist high fields of corn stalks.

No more planting for the rest of the year. All he had to do now was get ready for the harvest in two months and he would be good to go. Ben turned his eyes skyward and gave God thanks for this blessing in his life.

A devout Christian though he was, Ben was a man of the Earth through and through. He loved working the soil and it was a unique trait that defied his young age of sixteen. Yes, the farm was actually his parents and, yes, he didn't do ALL the work, but he still toiled the farm as though it had always been his. True the fields couldn't be done by hand, but the hoe in his arms simply had the right feel.

Another summer day was passing and he intended to enjoy it more than the day before. Far be it for him to think of that something would go wrong that day. Of course, he always believed in God moving him to purpose in his life. Unfortunately, he believed that the farm was his purpose in life. God, it seemed, had other plans.

Far away from Ben's farm, farther even still from Commander Winger's flight, stood a young woman named Shadowfeather, one of the last of her kind. At least, one of the last of her kind who still adhered to the old ways of the Navaho Indian. One of the few who still kept in her heart and mind to ways that hand been handed down from generation to generation.

She stood tall, somewhat lanky with long, straight black hair kept back thanks to a leather headband. She wore a brown leather jacket and pants and although it wasn't "traditional" Indian garb, she knew to dress sensibly when she went into the desert.

Tonight was special to her. Although the true nature and tradition of this night was somewhat lost over time, she knew the spirit quest was supposed to be something special. Something that led her to know what to do with her future as well as her self. It was a very spiritual thing and for her it meant a lot to make sure that it went accordingly.

As the sun set over the desert, she sat in front of her built fire and stared into it, contemplating herself, her place in this world and her place in her own life. Behind her, her faithful Opelousas, Firemane, stood and nibbled on a small patch of grass. She closed her eyes and fought against the rumbling in her stomach. The tradition was that she not eat or drink until her vision led her to her destination.

She hoped it was soon.

Within the confines of his tiny cubicle on board the science vessel, Perceptor, Anthony Bault was attempting to do two things at once: Crunch numbers and play GutBusters III. Fortunately for him, he could do both at the same time and very well, but doing both wasn't as much fun as playing GutBusters III alone.

It was the beginning of the week and he once again tried to convince himself that the work he didn't finish last week he would finish this week. It was almost lunchtime and he hadn't touched last week's work. "Oh well," He thought, "More work for next week." Anthony was undoubtedly addicted to video games. The fact that he had more games on his computer than he had work related files was proof of that. His shaggy blonde hair was getting in need of a washing as he tended to work twelve hours a day and then go to his quarters to eat and sleep and then get up to go to work the next day. He felt his upper lip and noticed that his mustache needed trimming as well.

He fixed a look on his face and sighed. He knew he had to get to work so he saved his game and glanced over at the pile of electronic forms stacked up on his desk. Thankfully, no one ever bothered him in his cubicle, so he was left to his own pace. The Perceptor was a science vessel unlike others he had been on. He signed up for it on a confidentiality basis and he wasn't allowed to tell anyone what he knew about it.

Not that it mattered. Not only had he not discovered what was under development in the station, but he was only allowed to leave once every six months and only then for a few days. Because of that, Anthony decided he'd rather just live on the station and avoid the complicated paperwork involved with leaving the vessel.

Since his arrival two years ago, he had only made a single friend. Being twenty-six and single, he figured he outta have more friends that one, but Doc was his only true friend. The old man was one of the lead scientists on the vessel and he treated Anthony like a son. He let Anthony into some of the more complicated machinery and test modules that he had available.

Doc told him the modules were merely advanced simulations and nothing of real importance. As such, Anthony treated them just like the video games that had been his constant companion for the past two years. Most of the time, he went berserk just for fun and trashed the fake cities in the simulations. However, old Doc would occasionally ask him to go ahead and try it for real. Those were the days Anthony REALLY enjoyed the sims. If he knew a day in advance, Anthony would psych himself out and get into the whole combat pilot mindset. On those days, he blew away the computers and AI pilots. Doc was always amazed at Anthony's results.

"And you've never had any military experience at all?" Doc asked him.

"Nope, just plenty of video games." Ant always replied, to which Doc would mutter to himself and makes notes on his computer.

Today, Ant decided to scarf his lunch before his designated lunch hour and head over to Doc's lab to see if he could get a little time in on one of the sims before he had to go back to work for the day. That'd be better than all day on GutBusters III.

Earth,

The center of the government at Davenport DC, The capital of Earth. Supposedly the Capital of Earth as well as all of it's Star Colonies, but that future was being decided as the current Chancellor of Earth, Julius Kaiser sat in his office with the rest of his cabinet and generals of the Confederation forces.

"Gentleman, I'm afraid I'm in a bad mood." He said as he walked in on them and sat at the head of the conference table. "In a few minutes, I'm going to have to leave here and ask the Governors of the rest of Earth the same thing I'm asking you: how long are we going to pretend the Colonies aren't breaking the agreements we've made for them?"

No one answered. Chancellor Kaiser scoffed, "We have seven Colonies orbiting our Earth. Each one is three times the size of Davenport DC and carried roughly twice the population. And now I hear that Magistrate Kraven has gone ahead and renamed the moon. Calls it Lunaris now."

"The Colonies are getting too brazen, gentleman. They've established their own space-faring army. They've constantly repelled and ignored taxes and tariffs that we set thanks to the Mega Domes on the moon, so they now have their own forms of supplies and food and, quite frankly, they no longer need us. So what does that tell us?"

Everyone remained silent. Except one.

Admiral Asimov Creed inclined his head thoughtfully and said what everyone else was afraid to say, "Rebellion, sir."

"Exactly!" Chancellor Kaiser slammed his hands on the table. "Rebellion! The Earth is the most important thing humankind has left. We almost destroyed it fighting each other two hundred years ago. The Confederation has stood the test of war. We were forged at the end of the Second Siege War, when no nation had the funds, troops, or resources to continue fighting each other. Our government is the reason those Colonies above our heads even exist and I will NOT have them rebelling against the Confederation in my reign."

"What would you have of us, Chancellor?" Admiral Creed asked.

Chancellor Kaiser looked to everyone in the room and said, "All of you leave. Now." Slowly, surely, the entire room got up and emptied except for the Chancellor and Admiral Creed.

"Admiral, I've gotten reports this morning that the Colonies are putting together a Navy to rival our own."

"Chancellor, we have more than enough of the Drones to easily match any armed force they could put together."

"There's more." The Chancellor said. "The Colonies have been sending expeditions out to the asteroid belt for a few years now and the intelligence I've gathered says that they've discovered some kind of rare metal. The only thing we know about it is that it is notoriously hard to forge into a useable form, but that once it is forged it is virtually indestructible to any known form of weapon that we have."

"I haven't heard this information before, sir." Admiral Creed said.

"That's because it hasn't been made to anyone but myself and the Director of Intelligence. I wanted more than enough proof to justify what I want to do next. There's more, Admiral. Much more. Weapons the likes of which we've never seen. Technology that's more advanced than anything we've seen. Most of it seems to be flowing into a single project, but what that project is, exactly, we haven't been able to determine. Now, though, I feel we have justification for what I'm about to order you to do."

Admiral Creed leaned forward on his hands. "And what would that be, sir?"

"I've sent out all our intelligence agents on a manhunt. This project is more dangerous to the Confederation's existence than anything you can imagine, Admiral. I want the place of origin for this project found and captured. CAPTURED! Once we find these weapons and technology, I want them in our hands at all costs! Once that is done, however, I want to find which Colony or Colonies are responsible and I want them blown to hell and back! We'll make an example of them and the other Colonies will fall in line. I'm putting this responsibility on your shoulders, Admiral. Do not disappoint me."

Admiral Creed stood and saluted. "No sir. I'll make it my first priority."

"See that you do." Chancellor Kaiser said, "I will not see another Siege War during my reign. We need to kill the head of this snake before it gets within length to bite us."

"Storm One to Base, come in." Jay said into the com-unit. The unit crackled to life a moment later. "Base to Storm One, report."

"Checkpoint reached, returning from patrol."

"Copy, Storm One. Come on in."

Commander Winger edged his fighter back around to head for the other side of Earth. It was a long flight out on their patrol and he could only think of getting back for his furlough. Just as he turned his fighter around, he heard the unmistakable blip of an object on his scanners. He looked down and tapped the screen to make sure it was working. Sure enough, it was there.

"Two to Leader, are you getting this on scanners?"

"Leader, Two. I'm getting it. Not sure what it is. About seventy-two klicks out. Looks like a station."

"Should we check it out?"

"That's the purpose of a patrol, is it not?" Jay asked. "What kind of patrol would we be if we didn't investigate this? Storm Three, call this in. Let's check it out."

Anthony knocked on the door to Doc's small research room and waited until it opened. Doc looked at Anthony through his thin-rimmed glasses and almost jumped with joy. "Anthony, my boy! Come in! What brings you here today?"

"Nothing important, Doc. I just wanted to see if I could get some sim time in before I head back for lunch." Anthony closed the door behind him.

"Well, just what exactly are you planning on accomplishing today other than trying to get me in trouble?" Doc asked, punching up the program for a simulation. The nearby cockpit was the only one, but it was made to be arranged for a wide variety of fighters and vehicles.

"Well, maybe trash a few cities and then back to work. No scores today."

"Anthony, my boy." Doc sighed and took off his glasses. Anthony could tell something was wrong with him today. He paused in his stride towards the sim. "What's wrong, Doc? Did I get you in trouble? You know, it's alright if you don't want me in here. The last thing I want is to get you in trouble. If you want me to leave and stop playing with the sims, just tell me. It's no problem, honestly."

Doc shook his head and looked up at him with a kind face, his white mustache wrapped around his smile. "Anthony, I did something I shouldn't have. I want to be honest, because it involves yourself. I'm afraid I didn't think clearly when I did it and it may affect you in a way you could never imagine."

Ant scrunched his eyebrows. "Huh? What're you talking about, Doc?"

"What IS that?" Storm Five asked suddenly. Jay hit the com-unit. "No chatter, Five. Whatever it is, it's unauthorized to be in this sector. Seven, are you reading any transponder activity?"

Storm Seven, Officer Jetter, had more sophisticated sensory units on his fighter. If there was anything suspicious about it, he would know. "Leader, Seven here. There is no transponder signal. I repeat, no transponder signal. Whatever that station is, it's not broadcasting it's identity and it is not armed."

"Not armed?" Jay said out loud. "Pirates?"

"Possibly. But pirates usually have weapons to protect them. There's not a single weapon mounted on that facility."

Jay bit his lip and stared out at the wheel-shaped base. Like a Colony, it had a wheel shape and smaller connecting spokes leading to the round center of the base. Lights flickered on it, so he knew there was life onboard. Jay wasn't known for making rash decisions, so he decided to make the most intelligent way. "Seven, contact Base and let them know what we've found. I'm going to try and hail them."

Jay flipped on his com-unit to the broadband and said, "Unidentified station, this is Commander Jay Winger of the Confederate Forces, please identify yourself immediately."

On board the Perceptor, Colonel Mark Bradshaw was in the middle of trying read the latest issue of Colonial News when the com-unit came to life with Commander Winger's voice. He stared at it and turned his attention to the sensors, frantically scanning the squadron. He dialed up the vid-unit and the face of Captain Hannis. She stared at him, bleary-eyed as if she had yet to have something to eat. "What is it, Colonel?"

"Contacts, Captain. A squad of Confed fighters coming this way. They're demanding our identification."

"Very well." The Captain said after a moment. "I'll deal with them. I'll let you know if I need you." She turned the vid-unit off and sighed. This was not what the Colonial Milita needed right now. They needed more time. The work being done at the Perceptor was still in differing stages. She called up on her computer console the hidden weapons systems that only she could activate and use. Several laser turret installments hidden in the hull were at her disposal, but she decided on a different plan.

She activated the com-unit and replied. "Commander Winger, this is Captain Hannis of the Science Vessel, Perceptor . I have you on my screens. Is everything alright?"

"Captain Hannis, your station is not signaling our computers with a transponder signal. Please explain."

"Commander, our transponder must be broken. I apologize, we had no idea."

"The transponder is the least of your worries, Captain. You are not authorized to be in this sector. I advise you to explain that right away. We've already notified our base of your position, so I suggest you explain very quickly why you're in this sector of space with no transponder signal." Commander Winger said.

"Of course, Commander. If you will allow me to extend one of our docking stations to your and your squadron, I'll be happy to let you come in and ex- plain everything in my quarters." Captain Harris ground her teeth together. Swallow that, you Confed garbage! Do it!

Jay smiled. "Of course, Captain. I'll take that offer." Jay switched his com-unit to the squad's channel. "Storms One through Eight, on me for the main hangar. The rest of you, take position around the station and keep your eyes open. We're going to make sure she's good on her word." Jay pushed the Windfall forward and headed for the main hangar. As he neared it, he kept his eyes peeled for anything suspicious. He supposed that an unfriendly would have attacked him by now, but something in his gut told him this wasn't right.

Captain Hannis worked through the computer as quickly as she could. She brought up the failsafe that kept the magnetic field in the hangar from accidentally dropping and she overrode it with her command codes. She dialed up the main hangar.

"Captain?"

"Officer, get everyone out of the hangar immediately."

Jay slid into the main hangar and noted how empty it was. A few shuttles and a small, battered fighter but nothing else. Nothing else. He shook his head and maneuvered the Windfall into a spot and parked it. He grabbed the picture in his cockpit and wedged it into his flight suit. He opened his cockpit and slid down the fighter's fuselage to drop to the floor. He tugged his helmet off and let his dark black hair shake out. He looked around at his other eight fighter pilots.

Jay felt that tinge of uncertainty stir in his gut. He looked around and suddenly realized that there was not a single other person in the hangar. There SHOULD have been someone in there. Mechanics or maintenance personnel or somebody at all. Jay looked to his pilots. "We've been had."

"What?" Someone asked.

Jay turned and started running for the hangar door leading into the station. "SHE'S GONNA SUCK US OUT THROUGH THE AIRLOCK! COME ON!" The entire squadron broke into a huge sprint for the door. Mere meters before they reached the door, Jay heard the hum of the magnetic field go silent and suddenly there was a hurricane of wind and force trying to suck them out into the vacuum of space.

Jay reached out and managed to grab a railing along with three of his pilots. A fourth snagged his hand. The other four were not so lucky. Storms Five and Six had their legs taken out from under them. They fell away, screaming, back towards the hangar door. Storm Five instantly went through into space and suffered the effects of instant decompression. Storm Six was more fortunate. He struck an six inch thick beam and was folded in half as his back broke over the rail.

Storm Seven was also spared the vacuum. She managed to grab a railing, but the glass of the maintenance office shattered in front of her and the shards of glass ripped her to shreds. She was dead before she let go of the railing. Storm Eight flew backwards, but his head smashed against one of the fighters. His skull was shattered before he knew he had hit it.

Jay gritted his teeth and stared up against the wind to the hangar door. It would close when the atmosphere leaked enough. He knew he and his had to get in there before it was too late. He fourth against the turbulent winds and grabbed at the hole-filled grating of the floor leading up to the door-his wingmen followed his lead. Jay managed to make it up to the door as it started closing. "HURRY UP!" He cried, setting his feet against the side of the door and helping his pilots haul themselves up through the door.

"Nine, this is Ten. I'm picking up a loss of atmosphere in the main hangar."

Storm Ten looked at his sensor when suddenly they flashed red. "Holy--! We're being targeted!"

"Break off, break--!" Storm Nine's cry was cut off as a laser turret hit him directly on the cockpit. His fighter exploded into flames. The remaining Storms split up and made a frantic scramble to evade the laser encampments that suddenly appeared on the science vessel. Ten was caught in the cross fire not long after Nine was and he managed a gurgling cry before his fighter exploded.

Eleven and Twelve, now angered at the sudden turn of events. Eleven turned his weapons to missiles. "Let's give those suckers a reason not to mess with Storm Squadron."

"I hear that!" Storm Twelve said.

Jay swore that Storm One was going to lose her foot in the door, but he managed to give her a final heave and pull her through just as the door shut and gravity returned to normal. Jay fell on his side and looked around. He still had four Storms left. Breathing quickly, he got to his feet and looked around. "Everyone okay?"

Suddenly, the station rocked and alarm klaxons went off. Storm One, Major Renn, looked to Jay. "What now, Commander?"

Jay stood back up and pulled out his small emergency laser pistol. "Whoever this Captain is, she's killed my Squad. I am very, VERY pissed off! We can't get to our jets, so we switch to Plan B."

"What's Plan B?"

"Find someone and make them do what we want or make them dead. Come on." Jay smashed the door controls and opened their way into station itself.

Anthony shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're trying to tell me, Doc. What'd you do that's so bad?"

"Anthony, you know all those simulations you've been doing? Not the ones where you trash cities and go wild, I mean the serious ones, the ones where you really try?" Doc asked, "Well, I took the scores you made and-."

The station suddenly shook and the alarms started going off. Anthony and Doc looked at each other. "What the hell was that?" Anthony asked.

"Felt like an attack!" Doc said. The old man jumped onto his computer and accessed the station's main Network. "I don't believe this! We're under attack!"

"Attack?" Anthony gasped, "Why? From who?"

"Confeds." Doc said. "They've found us. The sensors even say that there's some soldiers inside the station. Near the main hangar!"

"That's right down the hall!" Anthony said, looking towards the door. At that moment, Jay Winger and four members of Storm Squadron entered the lab with their energy pistols raised.

Captain Harris was not very happy, but at least she was well composed. She kept her cool, even though she had failed to sweep all the members of the squadron out of the hangar airlock. Now she had Confed forces running through the station and a handful of fighters outside, currently evading her turrets.

She sighed. It was a hard decision and she would pay for it with her career, but if she didn't do it, the Confeds were going to apprehend what the Colonies had spent so many years trying to build to fight them. Above everything else, she could not let them do that.

She reached down and accessed the computer. The display beeped and displayed in bright red letters the phrase: Self-Destruct. She set the timer for ten minutes and made for her escape ship in her private hangar. No alarms went off save for the ones already going. There was no indication for the base personnel that the self-destruct had been activated.

Above everything else, she couldn't let the Confeds get hold of anyone who knew what was really going on at the base.

Anthony and Doc stared slack-jawed at the intruders for a bare moment. Jay saw Anthony and raised his pistol at him. "Don't move!"

Anthony moved. Almost without thinking, he stepped sideways and raced for the safety of a piece of machinery. Jay opened fire with his squadmates, though their shots missed Anthony by mere inches and centimeters. Anthony grabbed Doc and hauled him behind the machines in his hasty dive. The shots riddled the area around Doc and Anthony, but as soon as he pulled Doc down they were safe.

Doc immediately pointed to a small door. "There!" He cried. Anthony raced for the door, which was just outside of their cover. Anthony raced out and slapped the door open. Shots rang out and dinged around Anthony, but he and Doc managed to corner themselves in the elevator as the door shut. Just before it shut, Anthony looked up in time to see Commander Winger rushing towards them. The door shut and they heard the thump of Jay hitting the door hard.

Jay turned to Gotz, Storm Three. "Gotz, you're the computer expert. Get this elevator back up here!"

Gasping for air, Anthony could only stare at the door for moments. "Doc, you okay?"

"I think so, Anthony, my boy!" Doc stood to his feet and brushed his coat off. "Quick thinking, my boy. Quick thinking!"

"Oh, I see that kind of stuff all the time. First person shooters, you know? Reflexes and all." Anthony sighed and turned around. The other side of the elevator was clear glass. The wall behind it suddenly gave way as they emerged into a massive hangar that was far larger than any hangar Anthony had ever seen. It was pitch black inside, save for a few emergency lights here and there. It was quite a ways from the floor, he noted. "Doc, what IS this place?"

Doc smiled knowingly. "This, my boy, is where the Rebellion's finest scientists have come together. This is the fruits of our labor!" He gestured to the blackness outside the elevator. Anthony blinked, trying to see through the veil of darkness. As they went lower, they suddenly passed a patch of lightened area and Anthony jumped back as they suddenly passed a massive metal face from the side. It wasn't modeled ENTIRELY after a face; it had no nose, mouth, or ears, but there was no mistaking that it was a head and the huge yellow windows slanted angrily were eyes.

"What the hell IS that?" Anthony asked.

"Simple." Doc said, "That is one of the most powerful weapons ever made."

Anthony looked again as they passed down a massive chest, light gleaming off of the sleek body. It was at least eighty to a hundred feet tall and it had a coat of gleaming blue and white armor. They passed the hand hanging at it's side and Anthony turned to Doc, his mouth hanging open. "What the hell is that thing?"

"We call it what it is. A Mechanical Killer--Mek, for short. It is more powerful than an entire army of fighters-even more powerful than the old atom bomb. It's a suit, basically. The pilot is housed within the cockpit inside the machine's chest. It has weapons that are beyond anything the Confederation forces could dream up. It is the most agile, powerful, and effective war machine mankind has ever devised."

"You built that thing? Is that what this station is for? Building war machines?"

Doc nodded. "You were hired, as far as I know, to handle the financial concerns of some of the lesser known areas. You had no cause to know what was going on here, so you were never told."

Anthony's head slumped against the glass of the elevator's side. He had been part of an effort to supply people with killing war machines? How had he gotten wrangled in this? Of course, it made sense now. Those two men who came to his house one day and asked him if he'd like a job making twice what he normally made and with a guarantee that he would make several thousand dollars as a bonus when the job was finished. The confidentially agreement, the hush-hush nature of just about everything done on the station. He was staring out the window at the very reason for it all.

Mechanical Killers.

Meks.

Anthony took in a deep breath and blew it back out. "Alright. So now what do we do?"

"I don't know, Anthony." Doc said, fiddling with his mustache. "We need to seal the cockpits of the Meks in case the Confeds come down here. If one of them managed to get into a Mek, it would be a disaster."

"Why's that?" Anthony asked. "The Confederation is the ruling government."

"Don't be silly, Anthony." Doc stopped and gave Anthony a light tap on the arm. "Have you closed your eyes the last few years? Haven't you seen the hostilities between the Confederation and the Colonies? The blatant taxes and tariffs. They hold us down with their boots at our necks. Anthony, we can't let the Meks fall into Confed hands." He turned around and opened his mouth, but the sudden scream of a blaster shot rang out and an explosion seemed to separate the two of them.

Anthony looked behind him and saw the intruders running towards them with blasters drawn. Anthony grabbed Doc and dragged him towards a nearby service elevator leading up to the catwalks that brought maintenance workers to the cockpits. Anthony slammed the button and he and Doc were on their way up at a faster speed than the previous elevator.

Jay reached them and swore, kicking the side of the elevator. He turned to his squad and yelled, "How many elevators does this place have!?"

"Commander." Gotz pointed to the stairs next to them. "We can take the stairs."

"Fine!" Jay said, leading them up the stairs two steps at a time. "Get the lead out, Storms!"

The elevator stopped and Anthony stood up. "Come on, Doc." Doc didn't get up. He looked down and for the first time he realized the terrible stench drifting about his nose. It was a terrible smell he'd never smelled before: the stink of burning flesh. He finally saw the black, gaping hole in Doc's chest and the oozing gush of blood coming form it.

"DOC!" He kneeled by Doc's side and looked at the hole helplessly. He knew there was nothing he could do about it. It was beyond anything a doctor could do. Doc was going to die. He was breathing deeply, trying to hold on. He grabbed Anthony's shoulder and rasped, "Anthony! Promise me you won't let them get any of the Meks. Don't let the Confeds take them from us!"

Anthony nodded, though his face was a mask of concern and fear. "Sure thing, Doc."

Doc smiled. "Knew I could trust you. My boy."

Doc's hand slipped off of his shoulders and Anthony realized his blank stare meant that he was gone. His only friend on the station, his best friend for a long, long time was gone. And it was all the Confed's fault. Anthony reached up and wiped away tears he hadn't realized he'd cried. He jumped to his feet as soon as he heard the thumping of feet coming up the stairs.

He dashed out of the elevator and looked back and forth. There was nowhere else for him to run. The catwalks were narrow and the only entrance to them was the elevator. He knew he could have gone back down the elevator, but then he would have left the Confeds up there with the Meks. He had to fulfill his promise to Doc.

Anthony ran down as far as he could. Blue bolts of energy whizzed past him as the Confeds running after him tried to gun him down. He reached the Mek at the end of the line of Meks. He didn't know exactly how many there were or even how to seal up the cockpits. He reached the last one and looked up at it. It had sleek, smooth metallic skin colored blue and white in differing spots on the body; it reminded him of those giant robots from his collection of anime. The lower arms and legs seemed slightly larger than the upper arms and legs. It's chest was level with the catwalk and an opening in the upper abdomen lead in towards it.

Anthony stopped, trying to catch his breath. He looked down and realized that the Confeds were right behind him, still firing. His only option was left to him: he ran up the black ramp and into the Mek's chest. He grabbed the ramp and pulled it up, closing it behind him until it shut him in and the only sound he could hear was that of his own ragged breath.

Jay stopped as he looked out at the ten or twelve feet from the catwalk to the chest of the massive machine. He looked to his squad and sighed, "Okay, he's not going anywhere. Gotz, watch this thing and make sure that he doesn't come out. If he does, frag him. The rest of you, come with me. We're going to find some way to get in touch with the squad outside." Jay led the way down the catwalk, his remaining three squadmates following him.

Inside the Mek, Anthony couldn't see a thing. He looked around and tried to feel around wit his hands. It was far into the chest. As soon as he got far enough, he heard the sound of machinery moving and then closing. He turned around and smacked into a wall that hadn't been there before.

"Great!" He said. Suddenly, a soft green glow illuminated the area. He looked around and found himself in a cramped, small cockpit. The seat in front of a wall-sized computer screen was the only thing there and all the walls were within arms reach. Anthony had to crouch slightly to get in, but he seated himself in the pilot's chair and looked at the source of the green glow.

The computer screen before him had a small bit of green text scrolled across it. He leaned closer and read it.

"PLEASE DESIGNATE PILOT NAME."

He scratched his chin. "Anthony Bault."

The text disappeared, replaced by, "PLEASE STATE UNIT DESIGNATION."

Anthony thought about that for a moment. Unit designation? He realized the computer of the Mek must be talking to him. It was voice activated so, "Please explain."

"UNIT REQUIRES DESIGNATION."

"I just need to lock the Meks down. How do I do that?"

"UNIT REQUIRES DESIGNATION. PLEASE STATE UNIT DESIGNATION BEFORE FURTHER ACTION CAN BE INITIATED."

Anthony nodded. "Oh. Okay. So you need a name before we can do anything. Alright then. Unit's designation is.Gamemaster." Gamemaster was Anthony's online screen name on GutBusters III's online mode. It was as good as any other and it was familiar to Anthony.

The green text disappeared, replaced by, "WELCOME PILOT BAULT OF UNIT GAMEMASTER, MECHANICAL KILLER, SERIES 001, DECENDANCY MODEL. PLEASE WAIT FOR ACTIVATION OF MAIN SYSTEMS AND THE DECENDANCY PROGRAM." Anthony stared at the sentence, wondering to himself what it meant. Suddenly, the cockpit lit up as computers and systems all around Anthony began to boot up and the Mek's engines began to whine as they activated.

Anthony looked around and suddenly he found a small beam of light shining right into his eyes. He cried out, but found himself unable to pull away or close his eyes. The lights surrounded him and he could practically feel the lasers as they criss-crossed his eyes. Small probes jutted out from the ceiling and reached out to copy and read his brainwaves.

It felt like forever, but suddenly Anthony became Aware. Somehow, he knew what that meant. He knew because now he was part of the Mek and it's Network. He was Aware of everything the Mek did and could do. He saw through the Mek's eyes. He saw the lone member of Storm Squadron watching him.

Gotz looked down the catwalk and spied Jay and the others coming back towards him. He heard a sharp whining noise and looked up at the Mek.

The Mek's head snapped down. It looked at him.

Gotz opened his mouth. "Oh Sh-!"

The Mek's left arm snapped up, breaking through the iron catwalk as easy as if were made of thin wood. Just as quickly as it snapped up, it snapped down, driving it's fist into the catwalk and obliterating Gotz as easy as if he were an ant on a sidewalk before he had a chance to finish his curse.

Jay and the Storms stopped. "Oh, frag me!" Jay whispered. He looked to the side at the open chest of a nearby Mek. "THIS WAY!" He said, diving into the Mek just as Anthony's Mek stepped forward, snapping the catwalk into pieces. His squadmates, unfortunately, were slower than Commander Winger and they paid for it. Anthony slammed the Mek's hand down on the catwalk and flattened the rest of Storm Squadron. As he brought the Mek's hand back up, it slammed into the ramp and closed the Mek's chest, sealing Jay Winger inside.

That was when their ten minutes ran out.

Allan was busy piloting the Wayward with his feet when suddenly he saw something in the distant space. It flared up in a giant fireball and then died out as vacuum sucked up the fire and oxygen. He snapped his feet down and stared, gaping at the spectacle. "An explosion. Something big, too. Oh man, I bet there's plenty of stuff to salvage over there." If it was a station, like he hoped, then Allan knew he could get his hands on something good before the explosion flung it too far from the blast area.

He hit the thruster to full power and threw his space tug in the direction of the explosion. Looks like today would be far from boring after all.

Ben was busy feeding his chickens when the sound of a distant echo caught his ears. He looked up in time to see a massive fireball with a trail of white smoke arching across the sky. He stopped what he was doing, took off his baseball cap for a moment and scratched his head as he watched it.

"Must be something big." He muttered. "Like a jet fighter or something. Why is it doing that? Is it crashing?"

He watched it for several minutes, listening to the roar of the falling object as it arched down, but somehow to the side. He wasn't sure what it was doing or where it was going until he suddenly realized that it was getting bigger. By the time he realized what was going on, it was almost on top of him.

He threw himself to the ground, but the object soared overhead by hundreds of feet and sailed past him. He picked himself up and looked out as it impacted with the western field of his farm. The shockwave and deafening explosion put him back on the ground. After a few minutes, Ben finally picked himself up and shook his head, trying to shake the ringing out of his ears. He stared in awe at the column of smoke rising from the field.

"Oh, I gotta see this!" He said, slapping his cap back on and running at full speed for the field.

Shadowfeather had stared into the fire for hours and hours. She waited and waited patiently, as did custom dictate. For a long time, she thought that the roaring she heard was the blood rushing from her ears. She was thirsty and starving; unable to think straight.

She suddenly heard a loud sonic boom and it snapped her out of her trance. She looked up in time to see a fiery object soaring out of the sky and about to land right on her. She only had time to stand up and gasp as it landed on her campsite in a giant explosion that was all but lost in the empty desert.

Allan made sure that he navigated carefully through the tangled wreckage of the explosion. Just like he thought, there wasn't much left. What was left was either floating out to space or being grabbed by the Earth's gravity to be pulled into the atmosphere. Uncle Otis had told him if this happened, to grab something that looked good and get lost before someone showed up and got mad that you were making away with junk they might want.

He scanned the twisted metal, but nothing looked like it was important. Suddenly, he spotted something. It was large, red, and didn't look like it was completely destroyed. In fact, it looked like it had survived the blast unscathed. He smiled to himself and took the controls of the Wayward and turned it's belly to the object. He glanced over at the controls of the tow cable. Aiming carefully, he fired the cable and watched as it spun through space before landing on the side of the object.

Thanks to some electromagnetic forces, the claw stayed hooked and he began to pull it in as he pushed the throttle forward and hauled butt out of the area before someone spotted him.

It was quite some time before Jay woke up. He looked around and tried to clear his head. It was dark, wherever he was. He looked about and tried to gain his bearing, but was unable to do so. He remembered to look into his pocket and snapped on a light stick. Shaking the components so it would glow brighter, he gazed around inside what could be generously described as a womb of machinery. He spied a chair and gratefully sat in it, thankful to be able to be off the uncomfortable floor.

As soon as he sat in the chair, the screen in front of him came to life.

"STATE PILOT DESIGNATION."

"Must be the computer of whatever I'm in." Jay muttered to himself. He looked around for the keyboard, but found none. "No keyboard?"

"UNIT'S SYSTEM IS VOICE CONTROLLED. STATE PILOT DESIGNATION."

Jay scratched his chin. Everything was still fuzzy on what had happened just before the explosion, but he knew he had been in a hangar of some sort. He must have dove into a jet or shuttle. It had no pilot, so he might as well assume command. Hell, after trying to kill him, it was the least the Colonies could do.

"Pilot's name is Commander Jay Winger."

"STATE UNIT DESIGNATION."

"Define Unit."

"MECHANICAL KILLER, SERIES 001, SURVIVOR MODEL. SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS: 2000 SERIES HARDENED SURVI-CONN NETWORK." Jay sat and listened idly as the computer ran down a long list of system specs and technical jargon that only someone like Jay, who made it his business to be familiar with his jet's systems. Everything was unfamiliar to him; most of the systems he had never heard of before. Things like servo-motors and empowered joints didn't make sense for a jet.

Finally, something came up that made Jay sit up and take a long look at the screen.

"WEAPONS SYSTEMS: PRIMARY WEAPON: VULCAN CHAINGUN, MARK V-5. MISSILES: TWIN SHOULDER MOUNTED MISSILE PODS. MISSILE SPECS: RAIN QUAD-WARHEADS, 300 SUPPLY. MELEE WEAPON: BUSTER SWORD. SUB-WEAPON: CHAIN LIGHTNING GENERATOR."

Jay stared at the screen for a few moments, his mouth hanging down slightly. There was more firepower on this boat than in a large colony. What was a Buster Sword? Or for that matter, what was a Chain Lightning Generator?

"UNIT REQUIRES DESIGNATION BEFORE PRIMARY SYSTEMS ARE AVAILABLE FOR OPERATION."

"Define, Computer."

"UNIT'S PROGRAMMING IS SPECIFIED FOR A SINGLE PILOT. NO PRIMARY SYSTEM WILL BE ACTIVATED UNTIL PILOT AND UNIT ARE DESIGNATED."

"So you need my name and I have to give you a name?"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"Does it matter what I name you?"

"NEGATIVE. UNIT DESIGNATION IS SOLEY AT THE DISCRETION OF UNIT'S PILOT."

"Unit Designation is The Storm." Jay said, with a certain smile. Storm was his squad designation and it would serve as the ship's designation-even if for only the moment.

"WELCOME PILOT COMMANDER WINGER OF UNIT STORM. STAND BY WHILE UNIT SYSTEMS ARE ACTIVATED."

Suddenly, the system came to life and shot Jay in the eyes with the strobe lights as it had done Anthony. Jay sat stock still, unable to pull away.

Chancellor Kaiser hung up the vid-phone in his office and cracked his knuckles. He dialed a number and Admiral Creed answered. "Admiral, I've just gotten word of an unauthorized science vessel in a sector of space. I'm sending the coordinates now. Our last transmission came from the last remaining member of Storm Squadron, but it was cut off mid-sentence. A few minutes later, we detected an explosion in the same sector. I want whatever is left salvageable from that explosion brought in and any survivors or witnesses to the event taken care of. No word must be leaked out."

"Yes, sir."

Ben hopped up onto the lip of the steaming crater. By now, the cloud of dust caused by the impact was settled down and only a few wisps of smoke rose up from the dirt. He whistled, looking down at the massive crater and the strange object at the center.

"Cool!" He said. "A burned out ship." He started to make his way down the crater. Halfway down, he started to think better of it. He could feel the heated soil right through his boots. It wasn't unbearable by any means, but it was highly uncomfortable. He reached the bottom of the hole and stared at the strangely colored.thing at the bottom. It was half buried in the dirt, but what was sticking out wasn't scored from entering the atmosphere. The thing looked like a ship's hull with differing colors. The main color was a sterling silver with a bright red accents down parts of it's side. There were a few pieces of black on the trim and dotted here and there.

He reached the hull of the ship-at least he was sure it was a ship-and then kicked the hull. It felt solid, unforgiving. He shrugged to himself and looked at the length of the ship sticking out of the ground. He stood on top of it and looked around, trying to find some sign of a cockpit. Perhaps someone was still inside, still alive.

Suddenly, the ship he was standing on threw him up into the air. Ben yelled as he fell over, the hull expanding outward to reveal an opening into the ship. Ben was too busy falling to notice. He put out his hands to catch himself, but the ship's hull was hot.

"AAAGH!" Ben pushed himself back up, his hands coming up burned. He himself back to his feet, but instantly lost his balance and fell backwards into the opening. Almost as soon as it had opened, the door sensed his entrance and shut itself in behind him.

Ben hit just about everything there was to hit on the way down. He didn't lose consciousness, but by the time he settled into at the bottom of the opening in the cockpit, he was in a great deal of pain. The cockpit sealed and Ben was lost in darkness. He looked around, frightened. "Hello? Hello?" No one answered. He was inside the ship and now he couldn't see anything. "HELP!" He cried.

Suddenly, the screen before him jumped to life with bright red letters. "STATE PILOT DESIGNATION."

Ben winced as he tried to right himself, his hands burning with pain. He read the text and shook his head. "Whatever."

"UNIT REQUIRES PILOT DESIGNATION BEFORE FURTHER ACTION CAN BE INITIATED."

Ben was home schooled. He'd never seen this kind of technical speak before. "Can you open the door, please?"

"PILOT DESIGNATION IS REQUIRED FIRST."

"I don't know who the pilot is!" Ben yelled. "Just open the door or something!"

"PILOT IS THE FIRST INDIVIDUAL TO ACTIVATE UNIT."

"Well, it's not me!" Ben said.

"THAT IS INCORRECT. YOU ARE THE FIRST INDIVIDUAL TO USE UNIT'S ACTIVATION PROGRAM, THEREFORE YOU ARE THE DESIGNATED PILOT."

Ben swallowed. I'm gonna be in trouble if someone comes for this ship. "I'm not a pilot! I'm just Ben Harvester."

"PILOT DESIGNATED. STATE UNIT DESIGNATION."

"What in the world is unit?" Ben asked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"UNIT IS MECHANICAL KILLER, SERIES 001, REDEEMER MODEL."

"You're called Redeemer?" Ben asked. The ship must have not been programmed to know much of the difference between a statement and a question because the next text said, "UNIT DESIGNATION CONFIRMED. WELCOME PILOT BEN HARVESTER OF UNIT REDEEMER. PLEASE STAND BY FOR SYSTEM ACTIVATION."

Ben sat uncomfortably within the confines of the cockpit. Maybe when it was done activating he could get it to open the door so he could go home. He'd had enough adventure for one day. He figured it couldn't get and weirder when the strobe lights struck his face and he found himself frozen.

Allan whistled to himself as he flipped the switches that closed the bay doors. He'd just finished using the external claw to haul his new catch into the bay. It had just barely fit in and had taken some really good maneuvering, but on the outdoor camera showed whatever it was to be in excellent condition.

The instant the pressure and atmosphere in the loading bay was done, he jumped up and walked in to the bay. Once inside, he whistled to himself. "Man, what in the colonies is this thing?"

It still had the glossy coat on paint on it. From what he could see, it was entirely crimson red except for lines of black that trimmed it on certain areas. He walked halfway down it when he stopped, staring.

It had a hand.

"Okay, this is strange." He said to himself. He walked up and down the length of the.thing. He found what he assumed would be the "head" of the thing and instead of a cockpit and vehicle nose he found.well, a head. A very strange head. Turned on it's side, it had long spikes coming out of the back. He walked around to the other side and found a blank "face" at the other end. It had a gray slate over where the mouth might have been and two large black empty "eyes"

"I must have found a giant robot." He said, half-jokingly. He too ka step up onto the top of the head and climbed onto the top of the machine. "Maybe I can sell it for scrap or something."

He looked ahead and found a long ramp jutting out of the area down near the legs. Legs? Allan looked again and made a dash down the smooth exterior of his catch and looked again. Sure enough, it had two long appendages at the end of it. At their end was the unmistakable sight of feet shaped ends. Hands, a head, two feet. "Oh fine!" He said to himself. "I caught a giant robot for real. What am I gonna do now?" He looked over at the ramp jutting out and made his way over. Looking down into it, He could see a tiny cockpit inside and a chair.

Allan pulled out a flashlight from his utility belt and started cautiously making his way down into the little area. As soon as his head passed the area, the ramp retracted and the doors shut on him. Allan jumped down and landed unceremoniously on his rump, in relative darkness except for the flashlight. Another door sealed him in the cockpit from the exit to the ramp.

"Hey!" He cried. "Open the door!"

The screen in front of the chair sprang to life. "STATE PILOT DESIGNATION."

Allan rolled his eyes. "Oh, here we go now. I'm in trouble." He looked around for a keyboard. "What's the keyboard?"

"UNIT'S SYSTEMS ARE VOICE COMMANDED. PLEASE STATE PILOT DESIGNATION."

"Who's the pilot?" Allan asked. He looked at the seat, but it was upside down. Oh well, he thought. He sat down in it and felt like he was sitting in a seat that had fallen backwards.

"THE PILOT IS THE FIRST INDIVIDUAL WHO ACTIVATES UNIT."

"Is that me?"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"So I'm the pilot?"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"Sweet!" He said. "Does that mean this thing is mine?"

"UNIT IS INOPERABLE BY ANY OTHER PILOT."

"So that means yes?"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"SWEET!" Allan yelled. "Then what is this thing?"

"UNIT IS MECHANICAL KILLER, SERIES 001, SONIC MODEL. PLEASE STATE PILOT DESIGNATION."

"What's Pilot Designation?"

"WHO ARE YOU?"

"Allan Ironside."

"STATE UNIT DESIGNATION."

"Unit designation?" Allan asked. "What's that?"

"TITLE AND/OR NAME GIVEN TO UNIT BY PILOT."

"Fine. Sonic model, eh? Well." He thought for a moment. The thing was so bright red it was unavoidable. Strange, too. His online screen name was Red Sonic. So, anyone with half a brain can see where this is going.

"Unit Designation is Red Sonic." Allan said.

"WELCOME PILOT IRONSIDE OF UNIT RED SONIC. PLEASE WAIT WHILE PRIMARY SYSTEMS ACTIVATE." The strobe light hit Allan in the face and he was frozen. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but eventually he regained his sight. However, it wasn't the inside of the cockpit that he saw, but rather the side of his cargo barge.

"Tries bizarre." He said to himself. "What-" He went to move his arm and heard a violently loud 'CLANG'.

"Huh?" He moved his head to look and another loud 'CLANG' rang in his ears. He looked down to see his arm, but found a massive metal hand at the end of a huge bright silver forearm.

"Okay, this is weird." He said, panicking. Allan made an attempt to sit up and that was the end of the Wayward's cargo hold. The massive machine ripped straight through the cargo bay doors and erupted out into space. Allan took one look at the stars and gasped. The atmosphere of the cargo bay vented and flew past Allan's field of vision.

He stood up and suddenly launched himself into space, slowly floating away from the Wayward. Allan looked down and found himself lost in a surreal moment. Here he was floating away from his ship through the vacuum of space. He felt dead. Space was instant death when unprotected, but Allan wasn't dead. Maybe he was on drugs.

He finally took a moment to listen to the sudden inrush of knowledge that he hadn't had previously. Suddenly, he understood what was going on.

He was inside a massive robot. Ben knew it. He didn't know how, but he knew it. He couldn't see the cockpit anymore, only what was outside in the robot's field of vision. He gave a sudden lift of his hand and the hand of the robot lifted. He turned his head and the robot's head turned.

It was a Colonial robot. He knew that now, thanks in part to the unique computer system integrated into robot. Instantaneous knowledge being fed into his brain. He knew what the computer's knew and he knew that this belonged to the Colonies.

"I should return this." He thought. It was his natural instinct. Ben was a very civil minded person and he would never take something that didn't belong to him. He could see a small radar screen in the corner of his vision and he looked at it.

"Computer or whoever." He said.

"YES, PILOT HARVESTER?"

"Who does this belong to?"

"UNIT REDEEMER BELONGS TO PILOT HARVESTER."

"I mean, does it belong to Earth or the Colonies or what?"

"UNIT REDEEMER WAS DESIGNED AND BUILT AS PER THE ORDERS OF COLONIAL MAGISTRATE WESTER KRAVEN OF COLONY OMICRON.

"So I should bring Unit back to the Colonies?"

"THAT WOULD BE THE RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION."

"Alright, I can do that I think. I just gotta call the Earth authorities and get them to pick you up and get you back up there."

Suddenly, the Mek's alarms flared to life. Ben looked up in the direction of the indicators altering him and focused on some small dots in the horizon. "HOSTILE UNITS APROACHING." The Mek said to him.

Jay looked around, staring out at the expanse of space. He looked at it through the eyes of the Mek. He had to get in touch with Confederation Control somehow, get this blasted thing in the government's custody and then get back into a fighter so he could blow somebody out of the sky.

The little radar at the corner of his vision had a small green dot near the center of it and three other green dots at the far edge of it. "Computer, what are those green blips indicating?"

"OTHER MK UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED."

"That's interesting." He said to himself. "How long have I been out?"

"FOUR HOURS AND TWENTY SEVEN MINUTES FROM THE ONSET OF THE EXPLOSION; SINCE THEN A TOTAL OF FOUR OTHER UNITS OF BEEN ACTIVATED."

"Interesting." Jay murmured to himself. "Who's this unit closest to us?"

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO INITIATE CONTACT WITH SAID UNIT?"

"Please."

Anthony was just getting used to the movements of the Mek after he awoke from his state of unconsciousness when suddenly he heard a buzzing in his ear.

"What's that?" He asked.

"ANOTHER UNIT IS HAILING YOU, PILOT BAULT. WILL YOU ACCEPT THE TRANSMISSION?"

"Sure, why not?" Anthony said. A face appeared in the edge of his vision. A face familiar to him. "Who're you?"

"Commander Jay Winger. And you are?"

"Anthony Bault. Currently floating in the dead of space."

"Same here. Are you inside one of these Mechanical Killer units?"

"You mean my Mek? Sure am." Anthony's face darkened. He put an impulse in his head through to the Mek and fired it's jet thrusters, heading for Jay's position only five miles away. "I jumped into after you and your Confederation thugs raided my home and killed my only friend."

If Anthony's statement bothered Jay, he didn't show it. "Well, I'd say I was sorry, but then again your Captain sucked half my squad into space and then you did a fairly nice job of killing the rest of them, so as far as your opinion of me goes, Mr. Bault, I don't give a frag! To top it off, your station was in violation of Confederation air-space, not to mention the fact that it was developing illegal weapons intended for use against the ruling government of Earth."

Anthony quickly searched down a list of his weapons. Melee Weapon: Decendancy Sword. He located it on his back and reached back to pull it out. It was a long, double-edge sword, though it was larger than any other sword in the world, it was a fine fit for his Mek. He hit the thrusters hard, egging his Mek towards Jay.

"Well, Commander, I can't really say I care. Whatever loyalty I had to the Confederation was obliterated the moment you and your goon squad blew away my best friend."

"Other units?" Allan asked, looking at two green blips approaching one another. "What units?"

"UNIT'S DESIGNATIONS ARE THE STORM PILOTED BY COMMANDER JAY WINGER AND THE GAMEMASTER PILOTED BY ANTHONY BAULT."

"Well, if there's other units around, maybe they'll know something about this hunk of junk I'm in. Take me over there."

"UNIT IS EQUIPPED WITH TWIN SONIC TURBINES FOR ADVANCED SPEED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACTIVATE THEM?"

"Why not." Allan said, and suddenly he found himself plastered against his chair, clutching the control sticks in his hands as the twin turbines jetted him forward faster than any jet could fly. Allan barely managed to blink, let alone fly the thing. The computer buzzed him again.

"UNIT STORM HAS HAILED UNIT GAMEMASTER ON AN OPEN CHANNEL. WOULD YOU LIKE TO INTERCEPT THE TRANSMISSION?"

"Nothing like eavesdropping to make my day complete." Allan said.

Ben stood up. Not in his cockpit, but in the robot. He looked around and found himself controlling the Mek's movements with his control sticks and impulses from his mind. Of course, he only knew that because the Mek allowed him to obtain the crucial knowledge.

He set one wobbly foot on the lip of the crater and stared ahead. The hostile units his computer had identified were two whole squadrons of jet fighters approaching his home fields as well as troop carrying hovercraft. The hovercraft set down in the fields next to his house and troops began pouring out. The squadrons circled him.

"WE ARE BEING HAILED." His computer told him.

"Oh. Well, put them through, I guess." Ben said.

A face enveloped in flight gear appeared in the corner of his vision. "Is this the pilot?"

"For the moment." Ben said.

"You are under arrest by order of the Confederation. Exit the vehicle and surrender."

"Arrest?" Ben gasped, "Why? What'd I do?"

"I repeat, exit the vehicle and surrender or we will be forced to open fire!"

"But I didn't do anything!" Ben raised his hands up in surrender.

"He's raising his weapons!" A voice cried out, "Fire!" Missiles launched, slicing through the air and leaving white trails of smoke behind them as they screamed through the air to impact on the chest of Ben's Mek. Inside the cockpit, Ben cried out and threw his hands over his face. The missiles impacted, surrounding the bot in a massive cloud of smoke and flame.

Ben opened his eyes. He wasn't dead. That was a surprise. He looked down at himself and at the silver hull of his Mek. It still shone like new, without a single scratch on it. "This thing is indestructible!" He said. Forgetting his amazement, he shook his head and began to think. "Computer, I need some help."

"UNITS STORM, GAMEMASTER, RED SONIC, AND SHADOWFEATHER ARE ALL ACTIVE." The computer said.

"Where?"

"UNITS STORM, GAMEMASTER, AND RED SONIC ARE CONVERGING ON EACH OTHER'S POSITION APPROXIMATELY 200 MILES FROM HERE. UNIT SHADOWFEATHER IS APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED MILES, BUT IS NOT ACTIVELY MOVING AT THIS TIME."

"Fine." Ben said, "Let's go to the other three. Can you fly?"

"UNIT DOES POSSESS AUTOMATED PILOTING IF DESIRED."

"Yes!" Ben cried. The engines of the Mek, placed on it's back and feet, roared to life. The Redeemer erupted from the pillar of smoke, rising into the air. Ben looked down and saw his farmhouse, the house he and his parents had lived in for his and their entire lives burning to the ground. Were his parents still inside? He didn't know what to think or do. Perhaps theses other units the computer told him about would be willing to help.

He could only hope.

"Well, maybe you should take it up with your captain." Jay said back to Anthony. "She was the one who killed off everyone else, not to mention the rest of your friends. I'd wager if it wasn't for me and my men chasing you into the bot, you'd be dead too."

Anthony drew closer, working the sword in his hand experimentally. "Oh, I suppose I should be grateful, Commander." He spat the title out with a lack of respect. Jay, veteran of countless space-borne missions wasn't lost on the fact that Anthony was accelerating towards him.

"Crap." Jay said to himself. "Computer, I need weapons."

"UNIT IS EQUIPPED WITH-."

"I know what it's equipped with, find me something I can use!" Jay said, panicking.

"Maybe next time, you should read the instruction manual first." Anthony said. Jay whipped his head up in time to see Anthony barreling down him in a sky blue-and-white Mek, it's hands wrapped around a long double-edged sword. Anthony's Mek crashed into Jay's, sending him spiraling into space. Jay struggled to right the Mek, fighting as he finally righted it. "I NEED A WEAPON!" He cried out.

"Here!" Anthony's voice cried over the comm. "Try mine!" Anthony swiped the Sword of the Gamemaster down on Jay's Mek, driving a gash across the chest of massive machine. Again, Jay's Mek tumbled out through space, but this time he managed to right himself quicker than before, though still too slow. Anthony was again in his face, thrusting the sword into the leg of his Mek. The blade went in, but only just barely. Anthony pushed hard, driving it deeper, but Jay reached out and grabbed Anthony's arm, wrenching it away. When in doubt, Jay thought, just punch the other guy.

Anthony spun backwards, but righted himself easily. Jay growled under his breath and dodged to the side as Anthony charged past him, the Gamemaster's Sword whizzing past him by mere feet. Jay spun around, waiting as Anthony struggled to stop the Mek and turn it around.

How does he do that, Jay asked himself. He couldn't have had any experience with the Mek, at least no more than Jay himself had had. How had he learned to use it so quickly? Jay was fighting just to keep it straight and Anthony was practically doing summersaults.

"Do I have a sword?" He cut the feed to Anthony right quick. "Something, ANYTHING, to counter him."

"AFFIRMATIVE. MELEE WEAPON: BUSTER SWORD."

"Where?" Jay asked. The little screen in the corner of his vision drew a small graphic of his Mek, then indicated with a yellow light a handle on his back as well as the weapon itself. Jay smiled.

Anthony reared his sword back for another swipe when Jay's feed came back, his face grinning. "Hey, Bault! You've got a nice little sword."

Anthony frowned. Racing towards Jay, he noticed the Mek reach behind him and pull out a massive sword that very nearly as tall as his own Mek and almost as wide. Jay's grin was evident in his voice. Anthony put the brakes on, throwing his feet out in front of him to reverse his thrust, but only managed to slow down enough so that he stood right in front of Jay. He may as well have painted a target on his chest.

Jay grinned wider, rearing his Buster Sword back. "This here is what I carry!" He slashed the Buster Sword down on Anthony's gut, doubling his Mek nearly in half. He finished his swipe and Anthony's Mek slid off, falling back into space. Inside the cockpit, Anthony struggled to keep his Mek together. The inside of the cockpit threw sparks around him, some of the systems began blaring alarms.

"WARNING! DAMAGE TO MEK, ABDOMINAL SECTOR!"

"No kidding!" Anthony said. He remembered his own Sword and brought it to bear just as Jay shot forward, his Buster Sword arcing down. The Swords met and clashed, halting each other's charge. For a bare moment, Anthony and Jay's Meks were face-to-face, eye-to-eye.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Jay asked. "I gotta admit, you're not that bad.for a Colonial. But as a member of the Confederation's forces, I'm obligated to root out usurpers and traitors to the government. Guess who fills that bill?" Jay broke the hold on their Swords and brought his up to bring it down on the neck of Anthony's Mek.

Suddenly, a different voice crackled over the intercom. A third face appeared in Jay and Anthony's vision. "Guess again, Sodbuster!"

A flash of red shot down and rammed into Jay's Mek. Jay tossed around violently inside the cockpit, his head and shoulders ramming into the sides of the cockpit. Jay swore and shook his head, his vision clearing in time to see a massive, spiked red Mek flying in front of him. "Computer, who is that?"

"UNIT IDENTIFIED AS RED SONIC. PILOT IDENDIFIED AS ALLAN IRONSIDE."

"See, the best thing about us Colonials." Allan said, his hands reaching behind him. "Is that we stick together. Need some help, fellow Colonial?"

"Much obliged." Anthony said, straightening his Mek out and bringing his Sword at ready.

"I heard your conversation through my comm-unit. Come on, let's teach this Sodbuster a thing or two about how we do it up here in space." Allan pulled his hands down and brought out a pair of shining, chrome scimitars, one in each hand.

Jay grabbed his Buster Sword with both hands and reared back, slashing out in a wide arc. The sword broke through the defense Allan put up with his scimitars, knocking them aside, but leaving his own flank open, a flank that Anthony took advantage of with his own Sword. He nicked the abdomen of Jay's Mek, then brought it up and down as Jay slashed at him, blacking the Buster Sword. That gave Allan an opening with his scimitars, which he double-slashed on the right arm of Jay's Mek.

Sparks exploded off of the arm and it ceased to move. Jay's HUD flashed red, a small graphic of his Mek showed the right arm in red. "RIGHT APPENDAGE IMMOBILE."

"Just great!" Jay swore. "Just fraggin' great!"

"INCOMING UNIT." His computer said. "UNIT REDEEMER. PILOT IS BEN HARVESTER."

"Contact him." Jay said, ducking back from a swing coming at his head from Anthony's Sword. "Secure channel."

Ben's face showed up in the corner of his screen. Jay took one look at his youthful features and groaned. "Great! Of all the reinforcements in the world, I get a teenager. What's your name, kid?"

"B-Ben. Ben Harvester. Who're you?"

"Commander Winger, but my name isn't important. I could use a little help, Harvestboy. I'm being double-teamed by a couple of psychos. Can you help?"

Ben swallowed loudly. "Uh.I don't know. I was actually hoping you guys could help me. See, my farm--."

"Never mind that! I help you, you help me, we'll cut a deal. Now can you help me or not?!"

Ben sighed. "Uh, sure. Just a minute." Jay's face vanished and Ben looked up at the approaching Meks. Okay, so now what did he do? He held the control sticks in his hands, but aside from sending it in a general direction, he wasn't sure about helping Jay out. Maybe if he could just distract one of them.

Ben urged the Mek onward, heading right towards the red one he could see in front of him. The spiked, red face swiveled towards him in time to see their Meks collide, slamming him down and pushing away from Anthony and Jay.

Anthony let the newly arriving Mek distract him, spinning to look at the quickly departing Meks. He turned back to Jay just in time to receive the flat end of Jay's Buster Sword coming down on his head. The impact knocked Anthony for a loop, driving him down. Jay raised the Buster Sword again and brought it down again, smashing the Gamemaster again. Anthony felt the burn of sparks as they singed his face and coughed against the acrid smell of heated electronics. His computer system began to stutter, failing to respond to some of his commands.

Behind them, Red Sonic and Redeemer tumbled around in space together. Red Sonic's hands wrapped around the neck of the Redeemer. "You jumped into the wrong fit, kid." Allan said.

Ben laughed. "Are you gonna choke me or something?"

Allan felt his face flushed as red as his Mek with embarrassment. He reared back and clocked the Redeemer in the face. "I thought I was getting into this to take down one Sodbuster, but so long as you showed up, I don't mind doing in two."

"Hey! I didn't do anything!" Ben cried, the Redeemer shaking violently as Red Sonic rained blow after blow into it. "I thought you two were attacking him! He said he'd help me if I helped him!"

"Oh, I'll help you, alright! Help you breath vacuum! You Sodbusters are all the same: think you rule everything you touch. Well, not this time. This time, we Colonials are the ones who're on top!"

Ben flicked Allan's image off. Bad enough he had to get pummeled by him, but he didn't have to listen to that guy run his mouth. Weapons. Did he have any weapons on this thing?

"Computer, do I have any weapons?"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

Red Sonic reared back to rain another blow down on the Redeemer when it's silver and red arms shot up, pointing to Red Sonic. The forearms suddenly split open and twin short double-barreled cannons jutted out, aimed right at his chest.

Allan gasped. "Oh sh-."

The Redeemer fired rapid bursts of blue energy that exploded against Red Sonic's chest, sending it careening backwards with every burst. Allan felt the ting of electricity as it coursed through every single piece of equipment that his Mek had to offer. "SYSTEM FREEZE." Allan's computer said.

"A freeze?" Allan cried out. "Oh come on, what kind of crap is this!"

Meanwhile, Jay was using everything he knew just to keep Anthony and the Gamemaster off of him. His Buster Sword, while more powerful, was slower to wield and more bulky to move around. Anthony's Gamemaster Sword was smaller, quicker and easier to move. With only one arm operational, Jay was doing all he could to parry Anthony's attacks.

Suddenly, his computer sent him a message, "APPENDAGE FUNCTIONAL." The graphic of his Mek showed the red arm turning green. Anthony was in mid- swing when Jay's arm came back online. He reached out with his supposedly useless arm and held Anthony's hand before it could swing down. No room to swing his Buster Sword, so he let it go and reached out to grab the head of the Gamemaster, blocking Anthony's vision and wrenching the Sword out of his hands.

Anthony looked around, trying to find out where Jay was, but he couldn't see anything. However, and he couldn't explain it, but he could feel his Sword floating just beyond his reach. He needed it. If he didn't, it would mean his death.

Suddenly, the hand was moved away from his vision and Anthony looked to see his Sword suddenly lodged through the hand of the Storm. Jay pulled it back, but suddenly got a massive boot to his gut. Anthony grabbed his Sword, pulled it out and swung it around to take Jay's head off when suddenly his Mek was assaulted by a barrage of blue bolts of energy. His Mek spun down, towards the blue and green sphere of Earth. Anthony's cockpit gave him the same message that Allan's did: "SYSTEM FREEZE"

Jay sighed in the confines of his cockpit. "Good work, kid." He turned and suddenly found his own Mek under fire from the Redeemer's blue bolts. It only took a moment of barrage, but Jay's systems froze as well, leaving him cursing inside the confines of his cockpit.

"I don't appreciate that kind of language, Commander." Ben said over an open channel. "Sorry about this, but if you ask me, all this fighting is kind of unnecessary. We're all on the same side."

"Not them." Jay fussed.

"Regardless, I think you guys should all calm down and relax. My dad always told me the key to keeping peace with people is to-" Jay, Allan, and Anthony's faces all blipped out as each one of them cut Ben's transmission. "Relax." Ben sighed. He'd stopped them, but that was as far as he had gotten. Now he wasn't sure what to do with any of them.

His communicator buzzed. "INCOMING TRANSMISSION."

Ben activated the transmission. It was on a broad channel, so anyone listening could hear them. A small face of a thin man appeared before him. He had short, oily slick hair and thin black mustache. "This is Colonial Magistrate Kraven speaking. Am I speaking with the pilot in charge?"

"For the moment." Ben said.

"What about your comrades?"

"They're chilling out for a moment." Ben grinned. Suddenly, Allan, Anthony, and Jay's faces reappeared. "Don't listen to that Sodbuster!" "I'll show you chilling out!" "That kid doesn't speak for me!"

"Alright, gentleman, no reason to get angry. We're incoming with a few escorts. We came as soon as we heard about the explosion and picked up your transponder signals. I take it you four haven't been getting along."

Allan scoffed. "Oh, me and Gamemaster here are getting along just as fine. It's those two that aren't--."

"You can stuff it for all I care." Jay spat.

"Gentleman, gentleman." Kraven said, "Please calm down. All of you are in a very peculiar situation right now. If you wish, come back with me to Colony Omicron and we can explain everything."

"And let you shot us down the second we exit our Meks?" Jay said. "Uh-uh. Forget it."

Kraven smiled a greasy smile. "Mr. Winger--."

"Commander." Jay retorted.

"Commander Winger, I would do no such thing. You see, right now, you four are the most important thing we Colonies have. I wouldn't dream of harming you, you're too valuable to us. If you come back with us, we can provide you with the information you need to know. And you're probably tired and hungry as well, if my intelligence on the Mechanical Killers is correct."

The four pilots remained silent for a moment. "Give us a second." Jay said. He killed the transmission to everyone and waited until the others were silent as well. "Computer, give me a secure channel to all four Meks." He waited until everyone's faces showed up. "What do you guys think?"

"Who cares what you think?" Allan said.

"Shut up, Ironside." Jay said. "Put your hat on and think. Right now we got two Colonials and two Confederates inside these machines. Now I don't know about you guys, but I don't intended to be a war machine for the government."

"But you came in on jet fighters." Anthony said.

"That's one thing. My job is finding pirates, raiders, things like that. There's justification. Currently, there's no war and I have no intention of being part of starting one. Frankly, I'd like to get out of this thing as fast as I can."

"He's got a point." Anthony said. "I didn't jump into this machine to be a pilot, I was just trying to run away from the Commander."

"I just wanted someone to help me." Ben said. "I didn't want to be some kind of pilot, I'm just along for the ride."

After a moment, Allan nodded. "Yeah, I didn't mean to be part of this either. So what do we do?"

Jay arched his eyebrow. "You asking me?"

"Why not." Allan sighed.

"For the moment, I say we all chill out, like Harvestboy said."

"My name's Ben." Ben said.

"And we follow Kraven back to Colony Omicron, find out what's going on before we decide on a course of action. If I went back to Earth in one of these things, they'd shoot at me. Are we in agreement? Truce?"

Anthony nodded. "Sure."

Allan sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Alright, truce."

Ben smiled. "See what happens when you just chill out and-." Everyone's faces vanished suddenly as the other three cut their transmissions. Jay snickered to himself. "Nobody likes a know-it-all, kid." He flicked back onto the broad channel. "Alright, Magistrate, we're coming. Just one question: how do you intend to get us there? Harvestboy froze our systems with his weapons."

"I got it." Ben said. "I was fumbling with the systems on the way up here. Found something that might be able to help. Computer, activate Grapplers. See if you can get them hooked onto the other three robots."

The front chest of the Redeemer exploded, sending three, four-pronged claws shooting outward, thick cables trailing behind them as they shot out and latched onto The Red Sonic, The Gamemaster, and the Storm. Ben smiled to himself. "Gotcha! Now let's follow the nice Magistrate." The Redeemer's thrusters drove it forward, draggin the other three Meks behind him. They unceremoniously hit each other as they trailed behind Ben's Mek.

"How long till we get to Colony Omicron?" Allan asked.

"It's about an hour away." Kraven said. "Settle down, gentleman. We'll get there soon enough."

Chancellor Kaiser answered an incoming call on his desk. Admiral Creed appeared. "Chancellor, we've intercepted several transmissions from the area of the unknown station. We counted five signatures from the explosion; three in space and two landed on Earth. We found on in the fields of the Middle Plains and the other one landed in the Navaho Desert approximately two hundred miles west of the Middle Plains. No word on that contact, but the contact in the Middle Plains fled into the atmosphere."

"Do we know what it is yet?"

"No sir, no pictures were taken, however one pilot claimed that it was a.giant robot?"

"An exoskeleton of some kind?"

Creed shrugged. "Perhaps, but they claimed it was much larger than an exoskeleton normally is. It attempted to assault them, they fired, but it wasn't destroyed. They counted twelve missiles fired, but when it emerged it seemed unscathed."

The Chancellor swore. "Could those Colonials found an indestructible alloy to make those machines from?"

"Possible."

"Where are we now?"

"Sire, there are four signatures we managed to trace and they're heading for Colony Omicron right now with Magistrate Kraven's ship and personal escort. Sir, should I contact Colony Omicron and ask them to-"

"No, Admiral. I want you to gather a strike force of our Drones, the ones just now ready for deployment, and make an example of Colony Omicron. Make sure that any Colony that harbors traitors will pay the same price Omicron is about to pay."

It was, quite possibly, one of the longest hours of the four young men's lives. Over the course of the hour, the three paralyzed Meks eventually came back online. When the Storm suddenly came back to life and started moving, Allan locked up in his Mek, sure that Jay was going to rip him and Anthony to shreds. But, true to his word, Jay merely unlocked himself from Ben's claw and flew alongside him.

As Allan and Anthony came back online, they did the same thing, flying alongside one another with Magistrate Kraven's escort surrounding them. Colony Omicron loomed ahead of them soon enough. All the colonies had the same shape: like a giant metallic doughnut. It had a spherical center inside "hole" with four thin entryways acting as spokes it it's wheel. It spun, generating the gravity needed to keep itself and it's citizens alive. It was approximately fifty miles in diameter, had the mile equivalency of three Davenport Dc's, and held twice the amount of people.

Jay had only been on a Colony once and he didn't care for it. It felt too confined and highly crowded. He had to stay on a space station as part of his service, but that was a cross he had to bear. He preferred to live on Earth, where the sky had no limit and he could feel fresh air, not recycled oxygen.

They were led into a hangar, where one-by-one, the Mek pilots all crashed into the hangar floor and brought their Mek's into against heap of tangled metal and limbs. It took some doing, since gravity was harder to navigate in than space, but eventually, the four young pilots managed to get the Meks righted and their ramps extended onto a long catwalk that lined the edge of the hangar.

Jay was the first person out and he found himself surrounded by half a dozen men with ion pistols hanging at their sides. He looked around, his own arms hanging at his sides, but ready to clock the first person who laid a hand on him. "I thought it wasn't going to be like this."

"This is for our protection as well as yours." A young man with a Sergeant's stripes said, "To make sure that you and your friends behave."

"Sure." Jay said, "Behave. Got it."

Two Meks down, Allan got out of the Red Sonic and sighed, breathing in the fresh air. He opened his one-piece jumpsuit that he normally wore when working the space barge and let in some air on his body. The inside of the Mek's were a little on the stuffy side.

He looked up at the massive blue-and-white Mek next to his and made his way over. Anthony came walking out of Gamemaster still in his work shirt and slacks. He shook his head, letting some fresh air get into his pores. Allan walked up. "Anthony, right?"

"Yeah." Anthony said, cautiously.

"I noticed you named your Mek the Gamemaster. Is there any particular reason why?"

Anthony nodded. "It's my screen name on GutBusters III. I play online all the time."

Allan clapped his hands together, smiling widely. "I knew it! I knew that name wasn't just coincidence. It's me.Red Sonic. That's my screen name, too! I've played against you for a long time"

Anthony's eyes widened in recognition. "Red Sonic? I didn't even think about that? So you're the Red Sonic who gives me so much grief online?"

"The same." Allan and Anthony shook hands, laughing. "Strange way to meet face-to-face, huh?"

"I'll say." Allan said, suddenly straightening as Jay walked up to them. Jay walked by without sparing a glance to them. "When you ladies are done playing around, I suggest we get straight to business."

The first thing Allan noticed about Jay was that he was taller and more well built than he and Anthony. That and he held himself with a position of authority that defied his age, whatever that might have been. Allan pointed to Jay behind his back and made a face at Anthony, who nodded.

They followed him to the last Mek in line, which was Ben's. He poked his head out and looked at them. He was still in his blue jean overalls and flannel t-shirt. He looked at the older three and recognized their faces. "What now?" He asked.

"Now we get something to eat." Allan said. "I'm starved."

Magistrate Kraven was true to his word. By the time the four of them were led to their destination, they were all starving to death. Thankfully, the Magistrate was accommodating them all with his own suite. They walked in and he was waiting for them.

"Gentleman, welcome. If you want something, my personal cook is over there. I also have some showers available and if you wish to change, I have my tailor here and he can order some clothes to fit you."

Jay made his way to the cook and made no hesitation. "Steak and fries. And a couple of beers."

"I second that." Allan said.

"Ah, a burger and fires for me." Anthony said.

"Same for me." Ben said. "But after I get a shower first. I kind of sweated real bad in there."

"Me too." Anthony said, looking down at his sweat soaked shirt. The whole four of them took turns eating and showering. Magistrate Kraven sat back, ordering himself some scotch as he examined some files in front of him on the coffee table. When, at last, the four of them were finished with cleaning up, eating and replenishing their fluids, the Magistrate finally addressed them.

"As you four have undoubtedly come to realize, you all became pilots of our experimental Mechanical Killer Units."

"Old news." Jay said, "What about them. I want to know where they came from, how you developed that kind of technology."

Karver, a small, slimly little man in person, locked his fingers together. "Truth be told, gentlemen, I myself only know what I was told. Something our miners found in the Asteroid Belt between Earth and Mars helped us develop the technology and alloy that powers your Meks. The alloy is something experimental. It's called." He glanced at a file on the table. "Chaodium. Virtually indestructible."

"Not so." Jay said. "Me and Anthony tore each other apart pretty good. Our Meks are both damaged badly."

"Not for long." Kraven said. "There's something unique about the systems of each Mek. I don't have all the details in front of me, but I believe it was called the Ploy-Modifying Unit. Makes each Mek self-repairing, from all accounts."

"That would explain why my Mek's arm suddenly became operational after being disabled." Jay said. "What were they built for? As if I didn't already know."

Kraven felt his lip go tight. "Well, Commander Winger, our scientists developed them because we felt it was necessary to have a superior weapons systems in case of attack. We were developing the Meks to be the ultimate war machines, to be truthful."

"For war, no doubt." Jay sighed.

"Not so." Kraven said suddenly. "In defense. We Colonies have the right to develop a Navy as well as top secret weapons systems. Read the Colonial Agreements, you'll find that there. Besides, Earth has it's own top secret weapons development sites that are kept hidden from us."

"So turnabout is fair play, is that it?" Jay asked, crossing his arms and leaning back on the couch.

"We've always strived to be on top of technology, Commander. It's our way. We need technology to survive out here. Turrets and jet fighters are fine, but the day someone develops something better, we could be in danger. That's why we built the Meks." Kraven reached down and grabbed a small pile of folders. "Apparently, there was so much new technology developed at the Perceptor, that there was no way to make each Mek alike, so the decision was made to make each one unique while still maintaining the caliber of each Mek."

"What?" Ben asked.

Allan leaned over. "Each Mek is different, but still the same."

"Oh." Ben shrugged. "It's all greek to me."

"Well, for instance, Mr. Harvester." Kraven said. "Your model is the Redeemer Model, which is meant to be more of a support and aid model than a combat model. It is equipped with mostly Ionic weapons."

"Ion weapons?" Jay asked. "I thought the only thing capable of powering Ion weapons was nothing short of a battle cruiser."

"New technology, Commander." Kraven smiled. "The Meks are all powered by some new fangled power source. Don't know what it is, but they call it Perpetual Energy. Clean burning and unlimited, or so I've been told."

"What did they find in that asteroid belt?" Allan asked, "The Holy Grail?"

"They may have." Kraven said. "Ben's Mek is one of the more unique Meks developed. It possesses the ability to disable, destroy, or even control another unit. It's melee weapon is capable of do this and it also has the ability to accelerate the other Mek's repair process."

"It can do that?" Ben asked. "Wow. No wonder it's called the Redeemer model."

"What about mine?" Allan asked.

Kraven flipped through the files. "Ah, the Sonic model. Made for speed, that's why it's lightly armored and with such small legs and arms. The Sonic Turbines on it's back are for high velocity, mainly. Very fast."

"You have no idea." Allan grinned.

"Mine?" Jay asked.

"Ah, the Survivor Model. " Kraven said, digging through the file with the image of Jay's Mek on it. "Your model was built with an exceptionally durable system. It's repair PMU works at an accelerated rate, more so than any other Mek and it's more heavily plated and armed than other Meks."

"Built for power and durability." Jay said. "Sounds fine. That would explain the Buster Sword."

"What about mine?" Anthony said.

"Ah, well yours is the Decendancy Model, Mr. Bault. From what I've been told, the only thing unique about yours is something called the Decendancy Program."

"What's that?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. The Decendancy Program is more mysterious than the Meks themselves. It was kept to be top secret, so the only one who knows what it is would be it's designer. Doctor Aaron St. Claire."

"Doc." Anthony said with a hard edge on his voice. "What did you build?"

"What's that, Mr. Bault?"

"Nothing. Just thinking out loud. So you don't know anything at all about this Decendancy Program?"

"Only one thing: It's rumored to have something to do with empathetic abilities, though how or in what way is uncertain. The Meks were all built unique, but different. Each model has it's own set of weapons and abilities because, in essence, each one is a test model for later units that may be built."

"But you have a problem." Jay said, "Being that the man or men who built them is gone thanks to one stupid Captain."

Kraven cleared his throat. "Ahem, yes I believe you are referring to Captain Harris's decision to activate the self-destruct system of the Perceptor. That is unfortunate in and of itself, however I don't believe it's a total loss. We have you four men to pilot our Meks and that is all that matters."

All four of them turned their heads towards Kraven, not one had a smile on their faces.

"We don't want to be pilots." Ben said.

"We jumped into them on accident." Allan said. "I thought it was space junk. I jumped into the cockpit and when it sealed me inside, I tried to talk to the computer to get it to let me out and somehow it thinks I'm the pilot."

"Same here." Jay said, "It was just an accident. I don't want to pilot that thing."

"But we have no choice." Anthony said. Everyone looked to him. "Doc told me about it before he..before he was killed. He said the Mek's imprint themselves to the first person who activates it. The first person to name himself the pilot really is the pilot and he's the only who can pilot it. The Mek will reject anyone else who tries."

"You mean those things won't let anyone but us pilot them?" Ben asked, "That's crazy!"

"No, it's not." Jay said, suddenly thoughtful. "It's perfect, in it's own way. That way no one can steal them and use them against their creators. Right, Magistrate?"

Kraven nodded. "Correct. However, you gentlemen came along at a strange time. The Mek's were completed and ready to accept pilots, but finding them seemed to be the real trick. In fact, Mr. Bault, you were the only pilot who passed the tests."

Jay, Allan, and Ben all shot him a glance, but Anthony held only confused expression and shook his head. "That's impossible, I never took any piloting tests."

"I can believe that." Jay said.

"Excuse me?" Anthony asked.

Jay grinned and opened another beer. "No offense, Bault, but you look like an accountant."

"What? Of all the-"

"Gentleman, please." The Magistrate said, breaking it up before it could start. "Mr. Bault, what do you mean? Dr. St. Claire put you through the tests and then he sent them into us. We had just approved your clearance to become a Pilot yesterday."

Anthony suddenly covered his mouth his hand. "That's what he meant. Doc told me he had done something with the scores I made on the simulators."

"Whoa, whoa, waitaminute!" Jay said, holding his hand up. "You've done simulations on these? I thought you said you weren't a pilot!"

"I'm not, I'm not!" Anthony yelped. "Doc would let me run around on the sims sometimes, but it was never a serious thing. I'd just play around."

"According to your scores, you've aced every test there is to ace. Your scores are higher than anyone else who've run through the sims. No one even came close to you, Mr. Bault and you're telling me you were just playing around?"

Anthony crossed his arm and looked dubious. "Well, not always. There was a couple of times I went all out and did the best I could. I think those must be the scores you're looking at. Doc must have sent them in without telling me. That's why he felt so bad, because he did it without my permission."

"That also explains how you were able to handle that thing so well the first time you stepped into it."

Anthony smiled at Jay. "Not to mention how badly I beat you?"

Jay scoffed. "Yeah, you beat me so bad you had to bring in another Mek against me and I had to lose control of my right arm in order to make it happen. Congratulations, Bault, you're what we call a loud mouth braggart."

"Who shoved the control rod up you're rear end?" Allan asked.

"I lost eleven good men and women today, Ironside." Jay began to raise his voice, "Men and women I chose personally to serve under my command and when I get back, I'm going to have to write eleven letters to eleven families and explain to them why their mommy, daddy, son, daughter, brother, or sister isn't coming home for Christmas.so you and the rest of the kids can kiss my grits!"

Allan shot to his feet. "I may be a space barge pilot, but my old man never raised me to be a punk."

Jay sat calmly in his seat. "Let me see here: a Confederation Commander and veteran of hell of a lot of battles versus a space barge pilot. I'm all aquiver." He wriggled his fingers as if he were afraid. "They don't call me Jay '2K' for a reason, kid."

"2K? Think you could have come up with a better name for yourself than that?"

"Shut up, Allan." Anthony said. He grabbed Allan's sleeve and sat him down. "I've heard of this guy before. The guy with two thousand confirmed kills?" Anthony asked. Jay slowly nodded. "I don't care to brag."

The proclamation made the room quiet for a long, awkward moment. Before long, Jay turned to the Magistrate and asked, "What about the fifth Mek? We haven't seen or heard from it, but our sensors indicated that there's a fifth active on somewhere on Earth."

Karver looked to one of his aide in wonder. "I-I don't know. I thought all active Meks were accounted for." For a moment, there was silence. The silence was broken as a small alarm klaxon sounded twice in the Magistrate's suite. He turned to a wall vid-screen win which a short, black haired woman appeared. "Magistrate, we have a situation."

Kraven led the four pilots into the Control Center of Colony Omicron, sweeping int othe massive control room and over to a small area with several vid-screens. However, the massive wall-sized vid-screens showed a massive armada of small ships surrounding a huge Battlecrusier.

"What is that thing?" Ben asked.

"Battlecrusier. A warship. Big one, too."

Kraven stood next to the lieutenant. "What's going on?"

"We count one Battlecruiser and one hundred unidentifiable small ships surrounding it." She said.

"Remote Drones." Jay said.

"How do you know what?" Kraven asked. Jay smiled. "I'm a Commander for the Confederation. I'm privy to a few secrets you Colonials aren't. They're supposed to be in development, I didn't think they were ready."

"What're they doing out here?" Ben asked.

"Isn't it obvious, Harvestboy?" Jay asked with grim look, "They're here because of us."

"Sir," The lieutenant said, "We're being hailed."

Kraven nodded. "Put it through."

The face of Admiral Creed appeared on the vid-screen both in front of them and on the massive vid-screen on the wall. Jay recognized him. "Admiral Creed."

"Magistrate Kraven," The admiral said, "This is Admiral Creed."

Kraven smiled friendly. "Admiral, how are you?"

Creed's smile was laced with poison. "Magistrate, you'll forgive me if I cut through the pleasantries and get to the heart of the matter. You are currently holding four fugitives within the confines of your Colony, though I am sure that you are aware of it. They were picked up on our long distance scanners and have been identified as weapons developed by traitorous Colonials."

Kraven sighed, "Admiral-"

"Kraven, I've never liked you, so that makes this even more enjoyable for me. Anyone who harbors the weapons themselves or the pilots of the weapons if under suspicion of treason-"

Jay scowled and pushed Kraven aside. "Admiral, Creed, this is Commander Jay Winger of the Storm Squadron of the 101st naval division." If anything would have caught the Admiral's attention, this did. He paused in his little tirade and stared at Jay for a moment before responding. "Commander Winger. I'm surprised. I didn't expect you in this situation."

"Yeah, I didn't plan it this way either. Admiral, you know me."

"Yes, your sterling reputation is something I'm well aware of, Commander. Could you please explain why you're in the Colony instead of your fighter?"

"Long story short, Admiral, I came into possession of one of these weapons and currently in negotiation with the Magistrate concerning the release and surrender of the four weapons." Jay felt Kraven's skinny arms flailing against his body. "No! You can't do that!" he hissed loudly. Jay reared his fist back and drove it into Kraven's jaw, bringing the skinny man to the ground.

"Sir, give me a few more minutes and I'll have the weapons and pilots in custody, no fuss."

"The hell you will!" Allan cried. He and Anthony charged together, hoping to knock Jay down, but the Commander was the quicker. He spun around and tossed Allan clear into another monitor, which busted open. Anthony reared back to punch him, but Jay caught his fist and one hit to Ant's gut put him out for the moment.

"You idiots!" Jay spat. "Don't you realize what he'd doing? He's gonna waste the Colony for having us here. If you guys turn yourselves in, you won't do any time, I can pull that kind of weight around. Let me handle this and nobody gets fragged."

Jay walked around the three bodies he'd put on the floor and appeared in front of the vid-screen again. "Sorry, Admiral, I had to renegotiate with the Colonials for a moment. Now listen-"

"No, Commander, you listen to me. How you came into possession of this weapon, I'm uncertain of, but the fact of the moment remains that you are currently under suspicion of treason yourself what being in possession of one of those weapons as well as in the care of those Colonials. You, Commander, are a traitor in my eyes."

"What?" Jay yelled, "No, that's not how it happened!"

"Sorry, Commander, but I have my orders. A shame you have to fall with them, but that's a fate traitors deserve." The vid-screen went blank and Jay was left with his mouth hanging open in shock. "You.you.ARGH!" Jay brought his foot up and smashed the vid-screen in front of him. He turned around to see Allan and Anthony standing next to each other with an 'Oh great' expression on their faces. Slowly, they applauded Jay.

"Good work, Commander. " Anthony said, "We are now officially screwed."

"Now my dreams of being Prom King will never come true." Allan sighed. "Thanks, Jay."

"Creed's got an agenda and nothing short of an order from the Chancellor will stop him." Jay said, swiping his hand through his hair nervously.

Allan nodded, exaggerating the movement sarcastically. "Oh, of course. That's make everything better."

"SHUT UP!" Ben suddenly cried out. "Not one of you guys is helping!" The sudden outburst surprised everyone for a moment. Ben looked to Jay. "Commander, you did what you could, but the Admiral's not listening. We need to do something."

Behind Jay, Kraven was climbing to his feet. "Scramble all our fighters. We have to stop those Drones from attacking us."

Jay sighed. "That won't do any good." But Kraven was already gone, scrambling to another control lieutenant to order the defense of the Colony. "Idiot."

"Why won't that do any good?" Allan asked.

"The Drones are just Drones, they can't do any serious damage to the Colony itself or so I've heard. They're just for close range dogfighting. No, the Drones are a distraction and front line. Take out the Colony's jet fighters and defense turrets while the Battlecruiser closes in and pulls the big punches."

"How do you know this?" Anthony asked.

Jay pointed to the rank insignia on his sleeve. "Hey, they don't throw these Command stripes around for nothing. Creed might be doing nothing more than trying to destroy this Colony, but it's all strategy to him. He doesn't think the Colony can put a fight good enough to stop him."

"We can stop him!" Ben said. The other three looked at him. "Oh, come on, you guys! Don't stand there and tell me you aren't thinking of the same thing I am. If we don't do something , a lot of innocent people are going to die. I don't know about you guys, but I won't let that happen, so if you three wanna sit around and fight like two year old girls over a doll, go ahead. I'm gone!" Ben promptly turned on his heel and marched out of the Control Center.

Jay, Anthony, and Allan sheepishly looked to each other, raising their eyebrows.

Ben raced down the corridors of the Colony, retracing his steps to the hangar. He sure was a strange sight in his blue jean overalls and white undershirt that he had gotten from the Magistrate. He reached the hangar and saw his Mek standing there at the end of the line of Meks. The rest of the hangar was scrambling to get the few fighters inside it to leave and fight the army of Drones. He sighed and shook his head. He stood in front of the ramp to his Mek and bowed his head.

"Lord, please give me the strength to endure this. Forgive me for doing this, but if I don't then more people will be killed who don't deserve it. Help me to do this on my own-" Ben stopped as a hand fell on his shoulder.

"Not alone, kid" Jay said. "Not today." Ben spun and saw Allan and Anthony behind him. Anthony was the first to hold out his hand, looking at them. Allan put his hand on Ant's. Ben placed his atop theirs. The three of them looked to Jay, who stared at them back, but after a moment placed his hand atop theirs. Without a word, the four of them split up and headed for their Meks. No small encouragement speech, no words of wisdom, no friendly hugs or anything like that. With the simple gesture, the four of them knew that they were the only ones they could depend on.

One by one, they entered their separate Meks not on accident or under duress, but under their own free will. They put themselves into their seats and hooked the straps around themselves, so that they wouldn't get thrown around their cockpits violently. With lights inside the cockpits, they could finally see what they were latching onto and where their equipment was coming from. They placed the gel electrodes to their temples and the strobe visor in front of their eyes. The systems started up and their visions melded into the vision of the Meks.

The hangar thudded violently as they stepped towards the magnetic field, jumping out into the vacuum of space. It was a surreal and awe-inspiring moment.except when Allan clipped the edge of the hangar with the shoulder of his Mek.

Anthony's face popped up in the corner of their vision as they began flying out in the direction of the Battlecruiser and the Drones. "Guys, listen to me for a second. The key to piloting these things is to try not to think about piloting them, just move naturally. Remember when we were fighting, Jay?"

"I remember."

"Right. You'd never piloted it, but you were doing just fine for a while cause you weren't thinking about it. Just do that."

"Jay, do you know anything about those Drones that we can use in fighting them?" Ben asked.

"They're small, about half the size of a jet fighter. They got long and short range missiles and Vulcan cannons. We'd better look up some of our other weapons systems, cause I don't think our Swords are gonna do much good against these little things."

Jay skimmed through the list of weapons systems. "Computer, locate Vulcan Chaingun Cannon." Jay reached back and pulled out a long rifle-like cannon. The massive barrel could be held by one hand, but if he needed to aim it precisely, he'd have to hold it with both.

Allan found his weapon: A Longshot RailRifle. The barrel jutted out of the body and was almost as long as his Mek was. It had a large scope on it, one he could use to reach out and frag someone with.

Suddenly, a flash of green laser buzzed past Allan and Jay, both of whom dodged, startled. They looked over at Anthony, who's face was slowly going red. "Uh, sorry. Optical lasers, apparently."

"Right." Jay and Allan grumbled.

"What's our eta?" Jay asked.

"What?" was the response he got from the other three. Jay sighed. "Nevermind, I'll do it myself." He brought up the speed they were traveling, the speed the Drones were traveling, and the distance between them. He calculated it in his head right quick. "We've got about two minutes until the reach us. Get ready."

"Already on it." Allan said, aiming his Longshot and down the barrel of it. He put the sight right between the wings of the first Drone he saw. He pulled the trigger and a massive beam of yellow energy shot out and turned the Drone into flaming slag.

"Eta thirty seconds." Jay said. He disconnected himself from the interface to his Mek and reached into his flight suit and took out the picture, gazing at it for a second before wedging it between the screen in front of him before reconnecting his interface.

Anthony sighed and repositioned his hands around the controls sticks. "This one's for you, Doc."

Allan swallowed the lump in his throat and re-aimed the Longshot for another Drone.

Ben sighed and recited a scripture. "Psalm 43:4: I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."

Jay spoke again. "Ben, Kraven said your Mek can disable other units. Do you think you can get rid of that Battlecruiser?"

"I think so." Ben said, "Sure, no problem."

"Good luck, Harvestboy. We're counting on you." Jay said. "Allan, Anthony, split up and take out as many of those Drones as you can."

"I copy." Anthony said.

"No problem." Allan replied.

The Drones loomed down at them in a horde of metal and computers, firing a massive barrage of red bolts of fiery energy. The Drones were exceptional shots and almost every bolt fired met it's mark, but the Chaodium armor of each Mek repelled the shot, bouncing it harmlessly.

Jay opened fire with his Chaingun Cannon, unleashing automatic fire on the nearest Drone. High powered silverfish shot blasted out, illuminating the blackness of space with a flare of silverfish fire at the end of the barrel. The Drone took three shots to it's fuselage and exploded. Jay turned around as the Drones flew past them, aiming carefully and hitting one, two, three, four in rapid succession.

Allan had to take a careful aim, but after a few shots he realized his Longshot was made more for sniping and high-powered hits than close combat. "Gotta be something else." He said, running through his list of weapons.

Anthony liked his own weapons. The Optical Lasers were not only easy to use, but very quick to fire. All he had to do was look at his target, fire off a quick synapse from his brain and twin emerald green lasers shot out, blowing apart any nearby targets. He sliced through one Drone, then watched as his lasers zipped through the torn fuselage and lanced another one just behind it. Both exploded quickly, the vacuum of space making them flame out quickly.

"Woo-hoo! Two at once!" He cried. Suddenly, six missiles shot past him, leaving trails of white as they soared on to claim six Drones of their own. Red Snic shot past, pumping his fist in victory. "Six at once, Gamemaster! I'm on ten. How about you?"

"Eight." Anthony said, training his sights in on a Drone and firing. "Make that nine. How about you, Ben?"

"I'm busy!" Ben cried. Allan looked and saw that Redeemer was nearing the Battlecruiser in the distance. Guess that was his way of saying that he hadn't bagged any kills. Jay swooped down in front of Allan's vision. "Keep focused, kid! We've got work to do."

"F'n Right." Allan said, throwing his arms to the sides as another six missles exploded from his embedded chest launchers. The missiles, smart ones, sought out the nearest Drone and blew it to pieces. "I got twelve volleys of these!" Allan yelled. "Who wants more?"

Jay went down and found a pair of Drones circling about to come up behind Anthony. Jay circled down and followed them. "If Allan has them." he said to himself. He circled down through his list of weapons and found them. His shoulder blades parted and twin heavy-missile launchers jutted out. Jay grinned, but deactivated them. "That's overkill, I think. There must be something else here I can use. Hmmm, what's Chain Lighting?"

Jay activated the program and his Mek brought his Buster Sword around and inserted the handle into a small opening on his back. The Buster Sword's blade jutted out above his head, beginning to glow yellow. On his vision, Jay could see a small area of space highlighted. An area of space completely surrounding him.

"Guys, I suggest you both clear out of here for the moment." He warned.

"Huh?" Was Allan and Anthony's reply.

"Gimmie some space!" Jay cried. "And make it fast." Wasting not time on more words, Allan and Anthony made for whatever direction was opposite of Jay. Just as they passed out of range, Jay pulled the trigger, so the speak. "Computer, activate Chain Lighting."

Jay's glowing Buster Sword threw out bolts of electricity in all directions. The bolts found only one thing: metal. Anything within the range of the Storm was struck by a bolt of electricity and summarily fried. Jay's area of space, approximately half-a-mile in every direction around him, was lit up as the Chain Lighting generator made short work of at least twenty Drones, them dotting space with their explosions.

"That's twenty-seven for me." Jay said, when the generator finally died down. "Catch up, guys. You're too slow!"

Allan grinned. "Show off." He fired off another volley of missiles. Suddenly, Allan's Mek was struck violently and tossed around space like a leaf in a hurricane. Anthony looked back to Allan. "What was that?"

"The Battlecruiser! AH!" Jay said, crying out as a Drone clipped his arm and exploded right next to him. "Those things are equipped with enough firepower to level a city. Did you think they were going to run away while we slaughtered their Drones. How many have we got left?"

"About thirty or so." Anthony said. "And the Colony's jet fighters are launching, so we've got some reinforcements coming."

"Ironside," Jay said, "What's your status?"

"Fantastic! My right foot engine is shot and I can't see anything. I'm flying on sensors alone!"

"Head back for the Colony. We'll handle it from here." Jay said.

"What? Come on, Jay." He whined.

"Ironside, if you can't help, then you're a liability. There's no shame in backing out when you can't do anything else." Jay said.

Allan sighed and turned his Mek towards the Colony. "Fine." He huffed loudly, "Biggest moment of my life and I have to crawl back home and lick my wounds."

"Okay, Anthony, it's just you and me now. Harvestboy, how're you doing?"

"Uh..little trouble here!" Ben said. That was an understatement. Ben swerved and ducked as massive blasts from the Battlecruiser seared through the space that Ben had occupied only a few seconds before. The targeting computers and operators on board the Battlecruisers were doing all they could to hit Ben, but he was nimble enough to dodge their shots.

Finally, one of them connected and the Redeemer spiraled through space uncontrollably. Arches of electricity danced around on his hull. "Okay, a lot of trouble here!"

"On our way." Jay said. "Come on, Anthony. We gotta give Ben some cover so he can reach the Battelcruiser."

"On it." Anthony responded. The two of them regrouped and shot towards the Battlecruiser, dodging the massive turbolasers as they rained down at them. One gunner got lucky and nicked the shoulder of the Gamemaster, spinning it around while another turbolaser hit him flush on the back and sent him down. "I'm out!" Anthony said, his voice coming through broken over the comm. "My system is frozen! I don't have any control!"

"Just great!" Jay said. "It's you and me, Ben Are you alright?"

"I got a little trouble with my controls, but I think I can make it. What's the plan?" He looked out at the Battlecruiser, still a mile or so off and still firing it's turbolasers at them. Ben dodged one and flew up next to Jay.

"Look, I'll try and draw as much of their fire as I can. You need to figure out how you're gonna disable that thing and fast."

"According to my computer, I use this thing." Ben reached back and held out his melee weapon. Jay had to do a double-take. It had a rectangular hilt and round, silver shaft at the end of which was a small section of jagged metal. It looked, strangely, like a key. "What is that?" Jay asked.

"I dunno. It's called an Ionic Resonator. Looks like a key, doesn't it?"

"More like a key.blade." Jay said. "Alright, get it ready and follow me in. We're going in hot!" Jay short forward, jutting his twin missile launchers out of his shoulder blades. "Sorry about this, Admiral, but this is what you get." The two missiles shot out, trailing out as they headed for the Battlecruiser's hull. The impact sent tow massive gouts of flame shooting into space, but their impact wasn't enough to seriously damage the warship. The turbolasers didn't even slow down.

Jay swung to the side, firing his Chaingun Cannon at the warship, though those shots wouldn't do any damage at all. True to his word, he drew quite a lot of fire to himself. So much so that he hardly had time to fire his Chaingun and spent more time dodging the blasts. He was a combat veteran of more battles than he cared to think about, but he was pushed to his limits with this. Battlecruiser assaults weren't exactly something he had a lot of training in.

A blue bolt flashed past his vision, blinding him for a moment but it was all the time the gunners needed. One hit clipped him in the shoulder, turning him around, a second blasted his legs, spinning him around again and a third shot hit him flush on the chest. The blasts didn't destroy him, a fact he was thankful for, but his systems were jarred and disrupted bad enough that they flickered on and off, not responding to him. A fourth shot did him in, freezing his computers and locking up his Mek. He spun away from the Battlecruiser; Ben shot past and headed for it.

"Get em', kid!" Jay cried, even though his comm.-system was down as well.

Ben was close now, within spitting distance of the Battlecruiser. His Ionic Resonator glowed bright blue as it charged with Ionic energy. He wasn't sure what it would do once he got there, but if he didn't reach the warship in time then it would mean the death of a lot of people.

BAM! A turbolaser clipped his shoulder. Frantic, Ben nearly shut his eyes as he dodged violently to avoid the turbolasers. He flew without thinking, without feeling and it wasn't until a voice cried out over his comm. That he snapped out of it. "Ben, you're going the wrong way!"

Ben blinked hard and looked. Sure enough, he was heading away from the ship. He cried out in frustration. "I can't do it!"

"Yes, you can." A voice said suddenly, though Ben couldn't place it. "I'll get you there."

Ben looked to the side and gasped as a dark hunter green Mek with black tracing suddenly appeared next to Redeemer. Ben glanced down at the transponder signal it was putting out. "UNIT SPARROWHAWK. PILOT SHADOWFEATHER."

"I hope you've got a better plan for this." Ben said, flying next to the new Mek. Suddenly, Allan flew in with the Red Sonic. "Look, new guy, if you can get Ben to the Battlecruiser, I'll take care of some of those turbolasers for you."

"Are you fast enough to do that?" Shadowfeather asked.

"Dude, you don't know what fast is!" Red Sonic's Turbines roared to life and the Mek shot forward. Ben looked to the Sparrowhawk. "Let's go!"

"Get behind me." Shadowfeather said. Ben did as told as the two of them flew forward. The turbolasers began firing on them again, but suddenly a pair of massive, black metal wings on the back of Shadowfeather's Mek spun around and then swung forward. They folded in front of the Mek as she flew, clasping together through small clamps and becoming a large, flat shield. A turbolaser hit the shield directly, but it's red energy parted as it struck the shield, sending smaller bolts of scarlet out as the bolt of energy dissipated harmlessly. Her momentum slowed, but there was little else that had affected her. Bolts struck the shield time and again, but they bounced off of it without harming either Shadowfeather or Ben.

Red Sonic, however, had his own defense. He zoomed forward with enough G's to flatten him against the seat. As long as he could steer the thing, though, he was dodging bolts and racing toward the side of the Battlecruiser, where most of it's embankments of turbolaser's resided. Allan grinned wickedly and pulled out his twin scimitars and approached the first turbolaser. He straightened out his Mek, flying like a superhero as he swung his swords, cutting the turbolaser turrets to pieces with a slash or two. He cut down the middle, hitting each turret as he passed it. One or two cuts was more than enough to cripple or destroy each turret and by the time he reached the end of the warship he had nearly taken out all the turbolasers on that side of the ship.

He swu